LINCOLN  ROOM 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 

MEMORIAL 

the  class  of  1901 


founded  by 
HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 
and 
HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN, 
Sixteenth   President  of  the  U.S. 

b.  Hardin  Co.,  Kv.,  iSoq  :  d.    Washington,  i86j. 

ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 


Tributes  from  his  Associates 


REMINISCENCES   OF  SOLDIERS,  STATESMEN 

AND   CITIZENS 


WITH  INTRODUCTION  BY 
THE  REV.   WILLIAM  HAYES  WARD,  D.D. 


THE   CLARKE   SALES   CO. 

103-105  Park  Avenue 
NEW    YORK 


COPYRIGHT,   1895, 

By  "THE   INDEPENDENT." 

Copyright,  1895, 
By  T.  T.   CEOWELL  &  CO. 


Narfajootj  ^ress : 

J.  S.  Cushing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


I 


CONTENTS. 


-♦04- 


PAGE 

Introduction ix 

By  the  Kev.  "William  Hates  Ward,  D.D.,  Superintending  Editor  of 
The  Independent. 

Four  Glimpses  of  President  Lincoln         ....         1 

Unfriendly  New  York  — "We  shall  beat  them,  my  son" — 
Receives  the  Re  nomination. 

By  the  late  George  William  Curtis.    From  an  unpublished  letter  to 
Professor  E.  K.  Wright  of  the  Georgia  Industrial  College. 

A  Wonder  and  a  Mystery 4 

His  Wisdom  and  his  Tenderness. 

By  the  Hon.  Henry  L.  Dawes,  lately  United   States  Senator  from 

Massachusetts. 

The  Story  of  the  Assassination 9 

Told  by  One  on  the  Stage  —  How  Wilkes  Booth  escaped  — 

The  Chamber  of  Death. 
By  W.  J.  Ferguson,  one  of  the  Players  at  Ford's  Theatre. 

An  Unpublished  Letter  from  Lincoln's  Law  Partner  .       17 

Lincoln  on  Education  —  His   View  of  Woman's  Rights  — 

An  Early  Reformer. 
By  W.  H.  Herndon,  Esq. 

Lincoln's  Faith  in  Prayer 22 

After  Gettysburg. 

By  General  James  F.  Rcsling,  LL.D. 

•  •  • 

111 


iv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Recollections  of  Abraham  Lincoln  .        .         .        .26 

History  of  his  First  Visit  to  New  York  and  New  England  — 
New  Facts,  with  Incidents  and  Stories. 

By  Henry  C.  Bowen,  Editor,  Publisher,  and  Proprietor  of  The  Inde- 
pendent, and  one  of  its  Founders  in  1848. 

i 

Some  Reminiscences  of  Abraham  Lincoln         ...      35 

Lincoln's  Visits  to  the  Army  —  "  The  Sheared  Virginian"  — 
A  Man  to  be  reverenced. 

By  Major-General  Oliver  Otis  Howard,  U.S.A.  (Retired). 

Lincoln's  Vigil 41 

The  Defeat  of  Chancellor sville. 

By  William  O.  Stoddard,  Private  Secretary  to  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Incidents  of  President  Lincoln's  Sympathy    ...       50 

The  Boy  who  robbed  the  Mails  —  The  Exchange  of  Prisoners 
—  The  Boy  ivho  wanted  to  be  a  Page —  Close  Districts. 

By  the  Hon.  Alexander  H.  Eice,  formerly  Member  of  Congress  and 
Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

A  Distinguished  Editor's  Recollections  ....      57 
A  Whisky  Bill  —  Lincoln  as  an  Editorial  Writer. 
By  Murat  Halstead,  Editor  of  The  Brooklyn  Union. 

How  Lincoln  was  warned  of  the  Baltimore  Assassina- 
tion Plot 60 

How  he  entered  Washington. 

By  Frederick  W.  Seward,  Author  of  the  "  life  of  William  H.  Seward." 

The  Career  of  Abraham  Lincoln 66 

His  Character  as  a  Man  —  His  Place  in  History. 

By  the  Hon.  George  S.  Boutwell,  Ex-Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

From  Libby  Prison 92 

The  South  feared  Lincoln's  Benomination. 

By  General  Neal  Dow. 


CONTENTS.  V 

PAGE 

President    Lincoln's    Knowledge   of    Human    Nature  : 

a  Critical  Study 94 

By  the  Hon.  Thomas  L.  James,  Ex-Postmaster-General. 

An  Hour  with  President  Lincoln 102 

By  Frank  B.  Caepentee,  Author  of  "  Six  Months  in  the  White  House." 

Reminiscences  of  Abraham  Lincoln 108 

Lincoln's  Reception  to  Tom  Thumb  —  His  Favorite  Books  of 

Humor  —  In  his  Coffin. 
By  Gbaoe  Greenwood. 

Lincoln  as  a  Story  Teller 116 

By  General  Egbert  L.  Viele. 

Lincoln  —  After  Thirty  Years  ......     125 

By  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  D.D. 

Lincoln's  Most  Conspicuous  Virtue 130 

From  a  Confederate  General. 

By  the  Hon.  John  T.  Morgan,  U.S.  Senator  from  Alabama. 

Abraham  Lincoln  as  seen  by  a  Lifelong  Democrat       .    132 

After  going  through  Baltimore. 

By  Colonel  B.  F.  Watson,  of  the  Massachusetts  Sixth  Eegiment. 

The  Hour  of  His  Thanksgiving 146 

"i  Thundering  Old  Glory"  —  The  News  of  his  Assassina- 
tion—  Angry  Crowd  at  the  Sub-Treasury. 
By  the  Hon.  L.  E.  Chittenden,  Ex-Registrar  of  the  Treasury. 

God  in  Lincoln 151 

Lincoln  in  New  Orleans  —  Attends  a  Slave  Auction. 

By  David  Gregg,  D.D.,  Pastor  of  the  Lafayette  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church,  Brooklyn. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Lincoln's  Kindness  of  Heart 155 

Pleading  for  a  Deserter. 
By  John  D.  Kernan,  Esq. 

A  Telegrapher's  Reminiscence 157 

Lincoln  in  the  Telegraph  Office  —  The  Nomination  of  Andrew 
Johnson  —  Mr.  Lincoln's  Fears. 

By  Charles  A.  Tinker,  Esq.,  Superintendent  Eastern  Division,  West- 
ern Union  Telegraph  Company. 

Lincoln  and  the  Slave  Trader  Gordon    ....    167 

Refusing  a  Reprieve. 
By  Ethan  Allen. 

A  Theatrical  Manager's  Reminiscences  ....     169 
Interview  with  Wilkes  Booth  —  Effect  upon  Edwin  Booth. 
By  Colonel  William  E.  Sinn,  of  the  Park  Theatre,  Brooklyn,  N.T. 

Some  Traits  and  Sayings  of  Abraham  Lincoln       .        .     175 

His  Self-Control  —  His  Foresight — His  Sympathy. 
By  Wayland  Hoyt,  D.D. 

Lincoln  in  Hartford 182 

The  Yeoman  Orator — Refuses  Wine — Names  the  Republican 

Clubs  —  Discusses  his  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
By  Daniel  D.  Bidwell,  Editor  of  the  Hartford  Evening  Post. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  Birthday 185 

Senator  Hoar's  Comparison  —  A  Negro's  Tribute  to  Lincoln. 
By  E.  E.  Wright,  President  of  the  Georgia  Industrial  College. 

Personal  Recollections  of  Abraham  Lincoln        .        .     188 

By  Henry  W.  Knight. 

Lincoln  as  a  Rhetorical  Artist 194 

How  he  learned  to  demonstrate. 

By  Amos  W.  Pearson,  Editor  of  the  Norwich,  Conn.,  Bulletin. 


CONTENTS.  vii 

PAGB 

Type  op  the  American  People 197 

The  Destroyer  of  Slavery — Abraham  Lincoln,  1865-1895. 
By  F.  B.  Sanborn,  Author  of  "Life  of  John  Brown." 

Recollections  of  One  who  studied  Law  with  Lincoln.     200 

By  John  H.  Littlefield,  Author  of  Lecture,  "Personal  Recollections 
of  Abraham  Lincoln." 

Mr.  Lincoln  at  the  Cooper  Institute       ....     207 

A  Critical  View. 

By  Henry  M.  Field,  D.D.,  Editor  of  The  Evangelist. 

What  General  Sherman  Thought  of  Lincoln         .        .     210 

The  Noblest  of  Men  —  Nature's  Orator. 

By  the  Rev.  George  "W.  Pepper,  Captain  and  Chaplain  of  the  Eightieth 
Ohio  Volunteers. 

As  Lincoln  appeared  in  the  War  Department       .        .     214 

By  Alfred  B.  Chandler,  President  and  General  Manager,  Postal  Tele- 
graph Company. 

Lincoln  and  the  Abolitionist  Riots  ....    224 

To  prevent  his  Inauguration. 
By  Aaron  M.  Powell. 

Lincoln  and  Charles  A.  Dana 227 

By  David  Homer  Bates,  General  Manager  Bradstreet's  Agency,  New 
York. 

Lincoln's  Farewell  to  Springfield 232 

Trust  iyi  Divine  Guidance. 
By  George  W.  F.  Birch,  D.D. 

A  Side-light  and  an  Incident 234 

Lincoln's  Description  of  Sheridan. 

By  Charles  Hamlin,  late  Adjutant-General  United  States  Volunteers. 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Reminiscences  of  Lincoln  as  a  Lawyer   ....     237 

Incidents  of  his  Practice  in  Illinois  —  Interesting  Cases  —  A 
Notable  Address  to  a  Jury. 

By  the  Hon.  Lawrence  Weldon,  Judge  of  the  United  States  Court  of 
Claims. 

i 

Incidents  Recalled  in  Washington  .....    256 

Recollections  of  Ex-Secretary  McCulloch  and  Mrs.  McCulloch 

and  Judge  Shellabarger. 
By  Janet  Jennings. 

Mr.  Lincoln  in  New  York 261 

His  Addresses  in  New  England —  "Right  makes  Might." 
Compiled  from  Correspondence. 

Anecdotes  of  Lincoln 268 

Stories  about  him  —  Choice  Stories  by  him — Some  of  his  Apt 
Illustratioyis  —  His  Epigrammatic  Sayings. 

Lincoln's  Second  Inaugural  Address       ....    293 


INTRODUCTION. 


«o« 


This  volume  is  not  one  man's  view,  nor  two  men's 
view,  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  is  no  portrait  biography 
by  a  single  admirer  giving  a  single  picture  of  the  most 
picturesque,  perhaps  the  most  noble,  character  in  Ameri- 
can history.  It  is  a  portfolio  of  portraits,  one  of  them, 
careful  and  labored,  by  Ex-Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
Boutwell,  others,  vivid  and  striking  snap-shots  by  men 
on  whose  memory  some  single  interview  had  impressed 
itself  as  a  great  event  in  their  lives ;  others,  single  scenes 
in  which  President  Lincoln  was  the  prominent  figure. 

All  these  together  supply  a  grand  composite  picture, 
the  separate  parts  all  blending  in  one  harmonious  whole, 
and  supplying  such  a  complete,  many-sided  view  of  the 
man  as  has  never  before  been  given  to  the  American  people. 

It  is  the  charm  of  such  a  multiple  presentation  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  character,  that  in  all  these  separate  views 
of  it,  given  here  by  more  than  forty  men  and  women, 
there  is  nothing  that  breaks  the  harmony  of  the  whole. 
From  every  side  at  which  we  are  called  to  look  upon  his 
character  we  see  something  noble.  He  is  small  nowhere. 
It  is  as  if  a  hundred  vessels  were  approaching  the  peak 
of  Teneriffe  from  as  many  directions,  and  from  each  the 
mountain  is  seen  rising  lofty  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

ix 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

Such  a  writer  as  his  private  secretary,  Mr.  W.  0.  Stod- 
dard, saw  him  close  at  hand  every  day,  knew  him  inti- 
mately, saw  him  in  his  most  familiar  moods,  and  watched 
his  bitterest  struggles  with  the  adverse  fortunes  which, 
in  threatening  to  destroy  the  Union,  first  struck  at  his 
heart;  but  he  can  remember  nothing  but  one  noble  hero, 
carrying  with  anxious,  yet  cheerful,  but  almost  super- 
natural strength  the  weight  of  a  Nation's  hope,  the  bur- 
den of  a  Nation's  fate.  Just  such  a  man  they  also  saw 
who  met  him  but  once,  perhaps  on  some  tender  errand 
of  mercy,  always  great,  however  simple,  playful,  or 
anxious. 

This  series  of  reminiscences  extends  from  his  early 
manhood,  before  any  one  imagined  his  future  fame,  till 
the  very  hour  of  his  death.  It  is  fortunate  that  his  law 
partner,  Mr.  Herndon,  and  his  associates  in  his  early 
experiences  at  the  bar,  Judge  Weldon  and  Mr.  Little- 
field,  have  been  able  to  give  such  interesting  accounts  of 
his  activity  in  his  profession  and  in  politics  while  he  was 
yet  unknown  to  the  world.  And,  passing  those  years  of 
fame  and  coming  to  that  last  terrible  night  that  put  the 
whole  country  in  mourning,  it  is  equally  fortunate  that 
Mr.  W.  J.  Ferguson,  who  was  one  of  the  players  at 
Ford's  Theatre  on  that  tragic  night,  has  been  persuaded 
to  break  his  long  silence  on  the  subject  and  tell  the  story 
of  the  assassination  as  he  saw  and  knew  it;  also  that 
Colonel  Sinn,  who,  as  theatrical  manager  at  the  time, 
knew  and  met  Wilkes  Booth,  can  tell  so  much  of  the 
latter. 

Perhaps  the  serious  side  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character 
is  made  more  prominent  in  these  papers.  The  public 
has  heard  too  much  of  Lincoln  as  a  story-teller,  and 
has  come  to  think  of  him  as  at  times  almost  dropping 


INTRODUCTION.  xi 

into  buffoonery.  General  Viele  speaks  of  him  as  a 
story-teller,  and  others  do  so  incidentally,  and  it  is  well 
to  hear  their  testimony  that  he  had  no  patience  with  any 
story  whose  wit  was  only  vulgarity.  But  it  will  be 
observed  that  the  prevailing  impression  made  by  Mr. 
Lincoln  on  those  who  met  him  was  that  of  a  burdened 
and  weary  anxiety,  as  of  a  man  who  carried  a  load  which 
he  could  rest  on  no  other  man's  shoulders,  and  whose 
physical  nature  could  bear  the  spiritual  burden  only  as 
he  sought  mental  relief  in  that  relaxation  of  joke  and 
story  which  he  could  so  much  enjoy. 

A  number  of  writers,  among  them  Henry  C.  Bowen, 
Daniel  D.  Bidwell,  and  Dr.  Henry  M.  Field,  describe 
how  Mr.  Lincoln  first  made  the  acquaintance  and  cap- 
tured the  hearts  of  his  friends  in  the  East,  after  his 
public  discussion  with  Mr.  Douglass,  and  so  became  an 
acceptable  candidate  for  the  nomination  as  President. 
After  his  election  he  entered  Washington  unexpectedly, 
by  a  different  route  from  that  announced,  in  a  way  that 
gave  occasion  for  much  criticism.  Major  Seward  tells 
just  what  was  the  occasion  of  this  surprising  change  of 
plan  and  route,  and  how  his  father,  Secretary  Seward, 
sent  him  to  meet  Mr.  Lincoln  and  warn  him  to  avoid 
Baltimore  and  escape  a  plot  to  murder  him,  just  before 
his  inauguration.  Not  three  weeks  later  the  Massa- 
chusetts Sixth  fought  its  way  through  Baltimore,  the 
first  armed  regiment  to  reach  Washington,  and  Colonel 
Watson,  of  that  regiment,  tells  the  interesting  story  of 
his  interviews  with  the  President  at  the  time. 

Original  testimony  as  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  religious  faith 
is  offered  by  General  Rusling,  taken  from  Lincoln's  own 
mouth.  But  that  story  should  be  very  carefully  collated 
with  the  wonderful  story  of  perhaps  the  same  occasion 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 

told  by  Mr.  Stoddard.  The  two  together  will  make  it 
clear  what  was  the  Higher  Arm  on  which,  in  the  time  of 
his  greatest  depression,  our  beloved  President  leaned 
with  a  faith  that  gave  him  assured  certainty  that  the 
cause  of  Country  and  Liberty  must  prevail  at  last.. 

For  the  lighter  touches  that  fill  in  the  vivid  picture  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  character,  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  skil- 
ful hands  of  the  late  George  William  Curtis;  of  Grace 
Greenwood;  of  General  0.  0.  Howard;  of  the  journalist, 
Murat  Halsted;  of  the  artist,  Frank  B.  Carpenter,  who 
spent  six  months  in  the  White  House,  painting  the  pict- 
ure of  the  signing  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation; 
of  Governor  Rice  of  Massachusetts ;  of  Charles  A.  Tinker, 
who  spent  hours  with  him  in  the  telegraph  office  of  the 
War  Department;  of  Henry  W.  Knight,  who  was  his 
body-guard  in  his  walks  at  midnight  from  the  War 
Department  to  the  White  House;  of  Albert  B.  Chandler 
and  David  H.  Bates,  whose  duty  it  was  to  translate  the 
cipher  messages  from  the  field  for  the  President  and 
Secretary  Stanton;  and  of  Secretary  Hugh  McCulloch, 
of  the  Treasury;  and  Mrs.  McCulloch,  whose  reminis- 
cences have  been  taken  down  by  Janet  Jennings. 

Besides  these  writers  there  are  others  who  speak  more 
of  Lincoln's  character  as  he  appeared  to  them.  Secre- 
tary Boutwell's  chapter  is  really  nothing  less  than  a 
grand  oration,  which  surveys  the  whole  man  and  his 
position  in  the  Nation's  history.  Similarly,  but  at  less 
length,  he  is  viewed  by  Senator  Dawes,  General  Neal 
Dow,  Ex-Postmaster-General  James,  Senator  Morgan  of 
Alabama,  Dr.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  the  Hon.  L.  E.  Chit- 
tenden, Dr.  David  Gregg,  Dr.  Wayland  Hoyt,  Mr.  Amos 
W.  Pearson,  and  other  writers. 

I  believe  that  no  man  can  fail,  from  reading  these 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

various  chapters,  as  full  of  thrilling  interest  as  of 
shrewd  character-sketching,  to  gain  a  very  complete 
and  correct  view  of  what  was  the  inner  life  of  the  later  of 
the  two  men  whose  names  head  the  list  of  those  whom 
our  country  will  ever  delight  to  honor.  George  Wash- 
ington stands  first  as  the  Father  of  his  Country,  and  his 
place  no  one  can  take.  Neither  can  any  one  take  the 
place  in  our  love  and  reverence  of  our  Martyr  President, 
on  whom  God  put  the  no  less  weighty  task  of  preserving 
the  American  Union,  and  the  equal  honor  of  emancipat- 
ing the  slaves.  These  chapters  will  be  a  fund  of  informa- 
tion for  future  historians,  but  more  valuable  as  bringing 
the  man  Lincoln  down  from  the  pedestal  of  his  fame 
into  the  humble  homes  of  the  people  whose  homely 
simplicity  he  never  lost. 

These  chapters,  with  the  appended  anecdotes  and 
characteristic  sayings  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  first  appeared  in 
a  special  "  Lincoln  Number "  of  The  Independent  of 
April  4,  1895. 

WILLIAM   HAYES  WARD. 


ABKAHAM  LINCOLN. 

TRIBUTES  FROM  HIS  ASSOCIATES. 


-<x>i*s©*- 


FOUR  GLIMPSES  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

UNFRIENDLY   NEW    YORK— "WE   SHALL    BEAT    THEM, 
MY  SON"  — RECEIVES   THE  RENOMINATION. 

BY  THE  LATE  GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

From  an  Unpublished  Letter  to  Professor  K.  R.  Wright,  of  the  Georgia 

Industrial  College. 

The  first  time  that  I  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  he  was  on  his 
way  through  New  York  to  be  inaugurated.  He  sat  in  an 
open  carriage,  and  was  passing  down  Broadway  in  front 
of  the  New  York  Hotel,  which  was  then  known  as  a 
resort  of  travellers  from  the  Southern  States.  It  was  the 
seat  of  great  hostility  to  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  party,  and 
the  city  of  New  York,  as  a  whole,  was  unfriendly  to  him ; 
and  Fernando  Wood  was  mayor.  There  was  very  little 
cheering  as  Mr.  Lincoln  passed,  and  he  looked  at  the 
people  with  a  weary,  melancholy  air,  as  if  he  felt  already 
the  heavy  burden  of  his  duty. 

I  saw  him  again  in  Washington,  at  the  White  House, 
in  the  first  winter  of  the  War.    It  was  in  the  evening,  and 

B  1 


2  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

I  called  with  his  friend,  Mr.  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  representa- 
tive for  Congress  from  the  Chicago  district  in  Illinois. 
Mr.  Lincoln  received  ns  in  his  office  —  the  large  room  on 
the  second  floor,  next  to  that  in  which  the  Cabinet  meet- 
ings are  held.  He  was  dressed  in  black  and  wore  slippers. 
On  a  table  at  his  side  were  maps  and  plans  of  the  seat  of 
war ;  and  pins  with  blue  and  gray  heads  represented  the 
position  of  the  soldiers  on  both  sides.  He  had  a  weary 
and  anxious  look  in  his  sad  eyes,  and  a  tenderness  of  tone 
in  talking  that  was  very  touching.  He  spoke  without 
bitterness  toward  any  person  or  party,  and  with  the  air 
of  a  man  bearing  a  most  solemn  responsibility. 

When  we  rose  to  leave,  Mr.  Lincoln  accompanied  us  to 
the  door  of  the  room,  and  as  he  shook  my  hand  and  said 
good  by,  he  said  with  a  paternal  kindness  and  evident 
profound  conviction :  "We  shall  beat  them,  my  son  —  we 
shall  beat  them."  But  the  air  and  tone  with  which  he 
said  the  words  were  so  free  from  any  unworthy  feeling 
that  the  most  resolute  and  confident  of  his  opponents 
would  have  been  deeply  impressed. 

Again  I  saw  him  when,  as  one  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Baltimore  Convention,  to  announce  to  him  his  renomina- 
tion  in  1864,  I  went  with  my  associates  to  the  White 
House.  Mr.  Lincoln  received  us  in  the  East  room ;  and, 
standing  at  one  side  of  the  room,  not  at  the  end,  while  we 
formed  a  semicircle  before  him,  he  put  on  his  spectacles 
and,  drawing  a  manuscript  from  his  pocket,  read  his  little 
speech  of  acceptance.  Afterward,  by  appointment  of  the 
committee,  I  wrote  a  formal  letter,  to  which  he  returned 
a  reply  which  was  published.  The  letter  itself,  written 
by  a  secretary,  and  signed  in  a  firm,  legible  hand,  "  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,"  not  the  usual  A.  Lincoln,  is  in  my  posses- 
sion. 


FOUR  GLIMPSES  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  3 

Last  of  all,  near  the  New  York  Hotel,  in  Broadway, 
where  I  had  first  seen  him  passing  on  his  way  to  Wash- 
ington, I  saw  his  coffin  borne  along  through  the  immense 
and  reverent  throng  of  the  great  city  on  its  way  to 
Illinois.  The  whole  country  knew  then  how  great  and 
good  a  man  it  had  lost,  the  only  American  whom  we 
name  and  revere  with  Washington. 


A  WONDER  AND  A  MYSTEEY. 

HIS   WISDOM  AND  HIS  TENDERNESS. 

BY  THE  HON.   HENRY  L    DAWES, 

Lately  United  States  Senator  feom  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  always  to  me  both  a  wonder  and  a 
mystery.  From  the  day  I  first  saw  him,  on  the  morning 
in  which  he  surprised  all  Washington  by  his  unexpected 
and  unexplained  appearance  at  the  railroad  depot  while 
every  one  else  supposed  him  quietly  asleep  in  Harris- 
burg,  through  all  the  subsequent  four  years  of  marvel- 
lous achievement,  he  was  to  me  a  study.  I  could  never 
quite  fathom  his  thoughts,  or  be  quite  sure  that  I  saw 
clearly  the  line  along  which  he  was  working.  But  as  I 
saw  how  he  overcame  obstacles  and  escaped  entangle- 
ments, how  he  shunned  hidden  rocks  and  steered  clear 
of  treacherous  shoals,  as  the  tempest  thickened,  it  grew 
upon  me  that  he  was  wiser  than  the  men  around  him. 
He  never  altogether  lost  to  me  the  look  with  which  he 
met  the  curious  and,  for  the  moment,  not  very  kind  gaze 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  on  that  first  morning 
after  what  they  deemed  a  pusillanimous  creep  into 
Washington.  It  was  a  weary,  anxious  look,  of  one 
struggling  to  be  cheerful  under  a  burden  of  trouble  he 

must  keep  to  himself,  with  thoughts  afar  off  or  deep 

4 


A    WONDER  AND  A  MYSTERY.  5 

hidden  which,  he  could  not  impart  even  to  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nation  to  whose  Chief  Magistracy  he 
had  been  called  and  for  whom  he  was  to  die.  I  met  him 
many  times  after  this ;  but  it  was  never  my  good  fortune 
to  meet  him  on  any  of  the  few  occasions  in  all  his  after 
life  when  the  sky  was  so  clear  and  the  prospect  so  cheer- 
ing as  to  lift  from  him  the  burden  of  anxiety  and  dis- 
tress which  so  constantly  pressed  upon  him.  Indeed,  it 
was  in  times  of  the  deepest  concern  that  I  saw  most  of 
him,  and  therefore  when  his  face,  which  was  always  a 
title-page,  most  clearly  revealed  the  painful  strain  of  the 
life  he  lived.  Others  were  more  fortunate  in  falling 
under  the  fascinating  influences  of  the  natural  man  on 
those  few  occasions  when  trouble  spared  him  for  a  brief 
interval,  lifting  its  weight  from  off  the  springs  and 
impulses  of  his  real  life.  These  were  the  lights  which 
set  off  the  shades  of  the  four  years'  picture  otherwise 
painfully  sombre. 

Every  one,  however,  came  away  from  his  presence, 
whether  it  was  when  he  was  in  his  serious  or  lighter 
mood,  impressed  with  his  stature  as  a  man.  That  which 
all  the  world,  looking  back  over  the  vista  of  thirty  years 
upon  the  great  events  of  that  period,  now  concedes  with 
entire  unanimity,  grew  by  slow  degrees,  but  more  clearly 
every  hour,  to  be  the  conviction  of  those  who  stood  about 
him,  and  saw  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  The  world 
sees  now,  what  contemporaries  were  reluctant  to  believe, 
that  the  nation  had  no  other  man  for  the  place  to 
which  he  was  assigned  by  the  Great  Disposer  of  those 
events. 

It  would  be  almost  a  waste  of  words  to  bring  up  anew 
to  the  minds  of  those  who  have  studied  the  agencies  of 
different  men  most  conspicuous  in  the  bringing  about 


6  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  great  achievements  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  time,  the  many- 
proofs  of  a  clearness  of  foresight,  an  unerring  judgment 
dissipating  mists  and  clarifying  doubts,  and  a  wisdom 
astonishing  the  wisest,  which  met  perils  and  solved  prob- 
lems and  adjusted  complications  which  appalled  and  con- 
founded the  wisest  and  most  patriotic  of  those  around 
him.  Those  called  to  hold  up  his  hands  as  counsellors 
found  him  calmer  and  clearer-sighted  than  they,  and 
more  than  one  in  command  of  armies  under  him  pro- 
nounced him  the  ablest  strategist  of  the  War.  It  was 
intuition,  not  learning  or  experience,  that  guided  his 
pen  in  reshaping  Mr.  Seward's  first  instructions  to  Mr. 
Adams,  our  Minister  to  England,  and  saved  the  nation 
from  an  untenable  attitude  toward  the  rebel  States,  upon 
which  hostile  Europe  was  making  haste  to  seize.  It  was 
political  wisdom  passing  that  of  any  other  man  which 
enabled  him  to  hold  in  check  the  too  ardent,  and  at  the 
same  time  hold  up  the  too  timid  and  faint-hearted,  while 
he  worked  out,  without  convulsion,  the  solution  of  the 
problem  of  emancipation.  Reconstruction,  though  not 
accomplished  in  his  lifetime,  was  certainly  held,  under 
his  guiding  hand,  free  from  the  disasters  which  came 
upon  it  when  the  reins  fell  from  his  grasp.  The  politi- 
cal sagacity  of  no  other  man  was  ever  equal  to  that 
which  enabled  him  to  gather  around  him  in  earnest 
support  of  his  administration,  rivalries,  opposing  pur- 
poses, conflicting  theories,  and  implacable  enmities,  which 
would  have  rent  asunder  any  other  administration.  No 
one  like  him  could  turn  aside,  so  that  they  hurt  him  not, 
the  shafts  of  malice  and  detraction,  or  like  him  could 
compose  strifes  and  poultice  heart-burnings  till  enthu- 
siasm drove  out  sulkiness.  Whether  it  was  in  the  small 
things  or  in  the  great  things  with  which  he  had  to  deal, 


A    WONDER  AND  A  MYSTERY.  7 

he  was  equally  matchless.  And  all  this  was  born  in  him. 
Neither  education  nor  experience  nor  example  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  production  of  this  great  central, 
controlling  force  in  the  greatest  of  all  the  crises  that  ever 
came  upon  the  nation.  His  development  kept  pace  with 
the  multiplying  exigencies  which  confronted  him,  and  he 
was  never  found  wanting.  He  grew  wiser  and  broader 
and  stronger  as  difficulties  thickened  and  perils  multi- 
plied, till  the  end  found  him  the  wonder  in  our  history. 
His  last  public  utterance,  only  three  days  before  his 
death,  when,  taking  the  nation  into  his  confidence  as 
never  before,  he  spoke  of  the  controlling  motive  of  the 
past,  to  what  it  had  brought  the  nation  thus  far,  and 
what  was  yet  to  be  done,  all  put  forth  with  a  simplicity 
and  power  of  speech  no  other  man  possessed,  stands 
unchallenged  in  the  light  of  thirty  years  of  subsequent 
study  and  experience  of  what  was  gained  and  what  was 
lost  when  power  passed  into  other  hands. 

I  love  to  think  of  him,  however,  as  the  man  open  to 
human  and  humane  influences,  pained  by  the  distress 
and  sorrow  which  filled  the  land,  shedding  tears  over  the 
terrible  sacrifice  of  life  which  was  the  price  paid  for  vic- 
tories that  filled  others  with  exultation.  ISTo  familiarity 
with  the  horrors  inseparable  from  war  ever  so  hardened 
the  softest  and  tenderest  heart  that  ever  beat  in  the 
breast  of  man  that  it  did  not  bleed  in  a  hospital,  that 
it  did  not  rebel  against  the  necessity  which  compelled 
him  to  deny  the  importunities  of  sorrowing  fathers  and 
broken-hearted  mothers  whose  sons  had  fallen  within  the 
enemy's  lines,  or  were  languishing  in  prisons  beyond  his 
reach.  The  desolation  and  woe  which  followed  the  work 
forced  upon  him  saddened  every  waking  hour  of  his  life 
from  the  day  that  terrible  work  began. 


8  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

This  is  the  Abraham  Lincoln  I  saw  most  frequently, 
and  who  comes  back  most  vividly  to  my  mind  as  the 
anniversary  of  the  day  approaches  when  his  life  and 
work  came  to  such  a  tragic  end. 

Pittsfibld,  Mass. 


THE   STOEY  OF   THE   ASSASSINATION. 

TOLD   BY  ONE  ON   THE  STAGE  — HOW  WILKES   BOOTH 
ESCAPED— THE  CHAMBER  OF  DEATH. 

BY  W.  J.  FERGUSON, 

One  of  the  Players  at  Ford's  Theatre. 

Only  four  actors  are  now  alive  who  performed  in  the 
play  of  "Our  American  Cousin/'  which  President  Lin- 
coln was  witnessing  on  the  night  when  he  was  so  cruelly 
assassinated.  These  actors  are  Harry  Hawke,  E.  A. 
Emerson,  John  Matthews  and  myself.  The  play  referred 
to  is  a  comedy-drama,  and  was  written  by  the  late  Dion 
Boucicault.  The  leading  male  character,  Lord  Dun- 
dreary, is  an  English  dude,  whose  peculiarities  are  a 
drawling  accent  and  great  intellectual  vacuity.  This 
character,  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  was  played  by 
Mr.  Emerson,  who  afterward  retired  from  the  stage,  and 
who  for  years  has  been  a  cotton  planter  near  Richmond, 
Va.  He  has  always  refused  to  say  anything  on  the 
subject  of  the  assassination.  Just  before  this  presenta- 
tion of  the  play  it  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  it 
was  presented  in  other  cities,  and  the  character  of  Dun- 
dreary was  successfully  portrayed  by  Commissioner  W. 
S.  Andrews,  of  New  York,  who  was  at  one  time  a  mem- 
ber of  Edwin  Booth's  company.  The  second  leading 
character,  Asa  Trenchard,  a  straightforward,  honest  Yan- 

9 


10  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

kee,  was  played  by  Harry  Hawke,  who  is  still  in  the 
profession,  and  is  located  somewhere  in  the  West.  This 
character  has  been  made  famous  by  Mr.  Joseph  Jefferson, 
who  has  played  it  many  times.  Mr.  Matthews,  who 
played  a  subordinate  character,  is  in  New  York,  no 
longer  playing,  but  connected  in  an  official  capacity  with 
the  benevolent  organization  known  as  "  The  Actors'  Fund 
of  America." 

I  was  a  very  young  man,  almost  a  boy,  at  the  time  of 
this  national  tragedy  about  which  I  have  often  refused 
to  speak.  I  will,  however,  break  silence  on  this  occasion 
for  a  great  weekly  journal  like  the  New  York  Independ- 
ent, which  proposes,  as  I  am  informed,  to  give  a  sympo- 
sium of  reminiscences  of  the  lamented  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Being  quite  young  at  the  time  of  the  assassination,  the 
facts,  as  they  appeared  to  me,  were  indelibly  impressed 
upon  my  memory,  never  to  be  effaced ;  for  I  believe  it 
is  a  well-recognized  principle  of  memories  that,  as  age 
advances,  we  remember  best  the  remarkable  occurrences 
that  happened  in  our  youth. 

It  was  my  first  season  on  the  stage.  I  was  what  was 
termed  the  call-boy.  The  call-boy  is  a  messenger  for  the 
stage  manager,  and  is  often  assigned  to  play  some  simple 
part.  One  part  of  his  duty  is  to  call  the  hours  of  the 
acts.  A  half-hour  before  the  raising  of  the  curtain  he 
goes  to  the  orchestra  room  and  says  "Half -hour,"  meaning 
that  in  half  an  hour  the  curtain  will  be  raised.  Before 
each  act  of  the  play  he  goes  to  each  dressing  room,  raps 
at  the  door  and  says  "  Half-hour,"  or  "  Fifteen  minutes," 
as  the  case  may  be,  meaning  there  is  that  much  time 
before  the  raising  of  the  curtain.  This  position  of  call- 
boy,  by  the  way,  has  since  then  been  done  away  with. 

A  young  man  who  was  playing  a  small  part  in  the 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  11 

piece  was  ill  on  the  day  of  the  assassination,  and  Miss 
Laura  Keene,  who  was  the  star  in  the  piece,  asked  me  to 
take  his  part.  When  she  came  to  the  theatre  at  night, 
as  I  had  a  scene  with  her,  she  rehearsed  me  in  it.  In 
that  way  I  happened  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  stage 
behind  the  scenes  with  her.  To  put  it  in  theatrical  par- 
lance, she  and  I  were  standing  at  the  right  first  entrance, 
at  the  prompter's  box,  directly  opposite  the  box  in  which 
the  President  sat. 

The  performance  was  to  be  for  the  benefit  of  Miss 
Laura  Keene ;  and  the  President,  together  with  General 
Grant  and  other  prominent  men,  had  been  invited,  and 
were  expected  to  be  present.  The  private  box  adjoined 
the  dress  circle  and  had  two  doors,  as  it  was  sometimes, 
by  a  partition,  converted  into  two  boxes.  These  doors 
opened  into  a  dark  passage,  closed  by  a  door  at  the  end 
of  the  dress  circle.  During  the  day,  or  previously,  it  is 
said  that  the  assassin  or  some  accomplice  had  bored  gim- 
let holes  in  the  box  doors,  enlarged  by  a  penknife  on  the 
inside  sufficiently  to  survey  the  position  of  the  parties 
within  at  the  moment  of  action.  The  hasps  of  the  locks, 
which  were  on  the  inside  of  the  box  doors,  had  been 
weakened  by  partly  withdrawing  the  screws,  so  that  a 
man  could  easily  press  them  open  if  locked.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's chair  was  in  the  front  corner  of  the  box,  furthest 
from  the  stage ;  that  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  more  remote 
from  the  front,  and  near  the  column  in  the  centre.  In 
the  box  with  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  were  Major 
Henry  K.  Eathbone  and  Miss  Clara  II.  Harris,  daughter 
of  Senator  Harris. 

It  was  during  the  second  scene  of  the  third  act  that 
the  shot  was  fired.  "  May  Meredith  "  was  on  the  stage 
doing  a  quiet  piece  of  monologue,  which  is  always  listened 


12  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

to  by  the  audience  in  silence.  Suddenly  the  sharp  report 
of  a  pistol  rang  through  the  house.  At  the  moment  the 
pistol  shot  did  not  attract  my  attention  because  the 
"  property  man "  (the  employe  having  charge  of  pistols, 
guns,  etc.,  used  in  plays)  was  in  the  habit  of  discharging 
old  firearms  in  the  alley  back  of  the  theatre  (the  theatre 
being  on  a  level  with  the  street),  in  order  to  reload  them. 
But  not  more  than  a  second  or  two  had  elapsed  after  the 
firing  of  the  shot  before  a  man  (Booth)  jumped  from  the 
private  box  on  to  the  stage.  The  crash  of  his  fall  quickly 
caused  me  to  turn.  Meanwhile  —  to  record  my  mental 
impression  —  as  I  had  had  charge  of  placing  books,  manu- 
scripts and  papers  on  a  desk  that  was  to  be  used  in  the 
following  scene,  and  which  was  just  back  of  the  scene  on 
the  stage,  the  thought  occurred  to  me  that  the  desk  had, 
in  some  way,  been  overturned  and  the  papers  all  dis- 
placed.    "  More  work  for  me,"  I  murmured  to  myself. 

But  as  I  looked  on  the  stage,  I  saw  Booth  kneeling  on 
one  knee,  the  position  in  which  he  had  fallen.  The  spur 
on  his  riding-boots  had  caught  in  the  flag  with  which  the 
box  was  draped  and  thrown  him  in  that  position  when  he 
alighted.  The  boards  used  on  a  theatrical  stage  are 
quite  narrow,  about  two  and  a  half  inches  wide.  We 
afterward  discovered  that  there  was  a  semicircle  cut  by 
his  spur  just  below  the  President's  private  box  from 
whence  he  had  jumped. 

Booth  (for  I  recognized  him  instantly)  rose  at  once  and 
quickly  ran  across  the  stage  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 
Inside  of  thirty  seconds  he  ran  across,  past  the  prompt 
box  and  then  out  of  the  stage  door,  which  was  on  a  level 
with  the  stage  and  opened  on  an  alley. 

For  a  moment  the  audience  seemed  to  be  spellbound. 
There  was  a  deathly  silence.     You  could  have  heard  a 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  13 

pin  drop.  I  instinctively  imagined  what  had  occurred. 
I  looked  up  at  the  President's  box,  and  saw  him  with 
his  head  leaning  on  his  breast.  He  always  sat  wibh  his 
back  toward  the  audience.  He  was  a  very  plain,  unos- 
tentatious man,  never  wanted  his  coming  to  the  theatre 
to  be  announced,  and  never  cared  for  any  demonstration 
of  applause  when  he  came  in. 

According  to  my  recollection  it  is  not  true,  as  some  of 
the  newspapers  reported,  that  Booth,  as  he  jumped  on 
the  stage,  cried  out :  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis  1 "  He  jumped 
up  from  his  knee  and  ran  rapidly  across  the  stage  in  my 
direction.  I  retreated  two  steps  to  give  him  plenty  of 
room  to  pass  me.  He  ran  out  into  the  alley  where  his 
horse  was  standing.  It  was  shown  afterward  that  he 
had  taken  a  stable  in  the  rear  of  the  theatre,  having  hired 
a  fine  bay  mare  from  a  man  named  James  Pumphrey. 
The  horse  was  saddled  and  ready  to  mount,  as  he  had  or- 
dered the  bridle  not  to  be  taken  off.  All  this  was  done  so 
quickly  that  those  in  the  theatre  could  hear  the  horse's 
hoofs  rattling  over  the  cobblestones  down  the  alleyway  — 
tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  until  the  sound  of  their  rattling 
hoofs  quickly  died  away  in  the  distance.  It  seemed  as 
if  for  a  minute  or  more  there  was  a  dead  silence  in  the 
audience.  There  was  no  crying  out.  Suddenly  a  move- 
ment was  made ;  the  actors  behind  the  scenes  crowded 
on  the  stage,  persons  in  the  front  of  the  house  crowded 
the  orchestra  and  tried  to  reach  the  stage.  Then  some 
one  said :  "  Booth ! "  and  the  cry  was  taken  up,  louder, 
and  still  louder  :  "  Booth  !  "     "  Booth  ! "     "  Booth  !  " 

After  the  excitement  was  over,  some  blood  was  found 
on  the  dress  of  Miss  Laura  Keene,  and  some  of  the  sen- 
sational newspapers  took  pains  to  chronicle  that  the 
blood  of  the  martyred  President  was  on  the  dress  of  an 


14  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

actress.  That  is  not  the  fact.  The  truth  is,  the  President 
did  not  bleed  at  all,  at  least  while  he  was  in  the  theatre, 
from*  which  he  was  quickly  removed.  The  wound  was 
on  the  left  side  of  the  head  behind,  on  a  line  with  and 
three  inches  from  the  left  ear.  It  is  true  that  blood  was 
found  on  Miss  Keene's  dress,  but  it  came  from  Major 
Rathbone.  It  seems  that  as  Booth  ran  across  the  box 
the  Major  attempted  to  seize  him.  But  Booth  wrested 
himself  from  the  Major's  grasp  and  made  a  violent  thrust 
at  him  with  a  large  knife  which  he  carried  in  his  hand. 
The  Major  parried  the  blow  by  an  up-stroke,  and  received 
a  wound  several  inches  deep  in  his  left  arm  between  the 
elbow  and  the  shoulder.  He  afterward  said  that  the  ori- 
fice of  the  wound  was  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length, 
and  extended  upward  toward  the  shoulder  several  inches. 
The  wound  bled  very  profusely,  so  much  so  that  after  he 
had  assisted  in  carrying  the  President  to  the  house  across 
the  street  from  the  theatre  where  he  died,  the  Major 
fainted  away  in  the  hall  and  had  to  be  taken  in  a  carriage 
to  his  residence.  It  was  the  blood  from  Major  Rath- 
bone's  wound  that,  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  that 
followed,  when  actors  and  audience  crowded  the  stage, 
got  on  Miss  Keene's  dress. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  after  this  great  tragedy,  Miss 
Keene,  in  her  travels  throughout  the  country,  would 
exhibit  this  dress  and  claim  that  it  was  stained  with  the 
blood  of  the  President.  To  say  nothing  about  the  want 
of  decency  or  good  taste  of  such  a  proceeding,  it  was,  as 
I  have  shown,  contrary  to  the  fact.  Harry  Hawke,  in 
his  statement  of  the  occurrence,  says  that  when  Booth 
gained  the  stage  he  slipped,  but  got  up  on  his  feet  in  a 
moment  and  brandished  a  large  knife.  He  looked  toward 
Mr.  Hawke,  who  recognized  him  as  John  Wilkes  Booth. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  15 

As  he  ran  toward  Mr.  Hawke,  the  actor  says  he  thought 
he  had  designs  upon  him,  and  so  he  ran  off  the  stage  and 
up  a  flight  of  stairs.  I  was  in  the  box  directly  after  the 
assassination,  and  saw  that  the  President  did  not  bleed. 
He  was  quickly  carried  downstairs  and  across  the  street 
to  the  house  I  have  mentioned,  where  he  was  placed  in  a 
bedroom  in  an  extension  on  the  first  or  parlor  floor  of  the 
house.  It  was  a  small  room,  ornamented  with  prints  on 
the  wall,  the  familiar  one  of  Landseer's,  a  white  horse, 
hanging  directly  over  the  bed.  The  wound  in  the  Presi- 
dent's head  did  not  begin  to  bleed  until  some  time  toward 
morning.  So  the  blood  of  the  martyred  President  did 
not  "  bedabble  the  robes  of  an  actress." 

I  had  seen  Booth  on  the  afternoon  of  the  fatal  evening. 
At  about  three  o'clock  he  passed  by  in  front  of  the  the- 
atre. I  passed  the  time  of  day,  and  he  remarked  that  he 
was  not  feeling  very  well ;  he  said,  he  had  pleurisy.  He 
went  down  the  street  to  cross  and  then  walked  up  toward 
the  White  House.  For  three  months  before  he  had  not 
been  seen  about  the  theatre.  Among  the  profession  he 
was  supposed  to  be  engaged  in  oil  speculations.  He  had 
not  been  acting  that  season,  and  was  very  much  inter- 
ested in  the  oil  excitement  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  house  where  the  President  was  taken,  across  the 
street  from  the  theatre,  was  occupied  by  a  family  named 
Peterson.  The  President  died  in  this  house  about  half- 
past  seven  the  following  morning.  The  son  of  Mr.  Peter- 
son and  I  were  chums.  When  the  President  was  carried 
in  the  house  I  went  to  the  basement,  where  I  was  ad- 
mitted, and  went  upstairs  to  the  room  where  the  Presi- 
dent had  been  taken.  I  saw  him  lying  on  the  bed.  And 
it  is  a  singular  fact  that  perhaps  has  never  been  published, 
but  I  had  seen  John  Wilkes  Booth  lying  on  that  same 


16  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

bed,  a  little  over  three  months  before,  smoking  a  pipe. 
The  house  was  a  sort  of  rendezvous  for  actors,  and  mem- 
bers of  theatrical  companies  often  rented  furnished  rooms 
there. 

After  this  sad  event  the  theatre  was  closed  for  an  in- 
definite period,  and  it  was  never  opened  again  as  a  theatre. 
It  is  a  singular  fact,  having  no  significance  except  among 
those  who  were  superstitiously  inclined,  but  the  building 
fell  to  the  ground  on  the  day  that  Edwin  Booth  died. 
The  truth  is  that  the  theatre  was  never  properly  con- 
structed, and  its  fall  can  easily  be  accounted  for  from 
natural  causes. 

New  York  City. 


AN   UNPUBLISHED   LETTEE  FROM  LINCOLN'S 

LAW  PAETNEE. 

LINCOLN    ON    EDUCATION—  HIS    VIEW     OF    WOMAN'S 
RIGHTS  — AN  EARLY  REFORMER. 

BY  W.  H.  HERNDON,  ESQ. 

[The  venerable  W.  H.  Herndon,  who  for  twenty-five  years  was 
Abraham  Lincoln's  law  partner,  and  knew  him  better  than  per- 
haps any  man  now  living,  wrote  the  following  —  a  letter  to  Mr. 
John  C.  Henderson,  of  this  city,  giving  facts  which  are  an  interest- 
ing and  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of  one  of  America's 
most  celebrated  statesmen.] 

You  request  me  to  state  to  you  what  were  the  feelings, 
sentiments  and  ideas  of  Mr.  Lincoln  touching  the  great 
subject  of  public — universal  —  education  of  the  people, 
especially  in  America.  I  became  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Lincoln  in  1834,  while  he  lived  in  New  Salem,  in  Sanga- 
mon County,  in  this  State  (Illinois),  and  knew  him  well 
from  1834  to  the  day  of  his  death ;  and  I  ought  to  know 
his  feelings,  sentiments  and  ideas  on  this  subject.  I 
know  what  he  has  really  said  on  the  question  of  educa- 
tion, and  I  know  what  he  has  written  on  it ;  he  has  said 
to  me,  and  to  others  in  my  presence  and  hearing,  that 
"universal  education  should  go  along  with  and  accom- 
pany the  universal  ballot  in  America ;  that  the  very  best, 
firmest  and  most  enduring  basis  of  our  Eepublic  was  the 
education,  the  thorough  and  the  universal  education  of 
c  17 


18  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  great  American  people ;  and  that  the  intelligence  of 
the  mass  of  our  people  was  the  light  and  the  life  of  the 
Republic."  This  I  have  heard  him  say  in  substance  over 
and  over,  again  and  again.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  conscien- 
tiously just,  truthful  and  honest,  and  hence  thought  that 
every  other  person  was  just,  truthful  and  honest;  but  in 
this  belief  he  was  often  sorely  disappointed.  He  had  an 
infinite  faith  —  trust  —  in  the  people,  and  in  their  instinct 
of,  and  mental  insight  into,  the  fundamentals  of  govern- 
ment. He  trusted  the  people,  and  saw  no  creature  made 
purposely  to  rule  them  without  their  consent.  He  looked 
to  the  great  mass  of  men  for  the  right,  and  had  full  faith 
in  the  honesty  and  capability  of  the  people  for  self-gov- 
ernment. As  a  politician  and  a  statesman  he  took  no 
steps  in  advance  of  the  great  mass  of  our  people.  Before 
he  acted  on  any  great  political  or  other  question  touching 
the  people's  interest,  he  took  notes,  made  observations, 
felt  the  public  pulse  ;  and  when  he  thought  that  the 
people  were  ready  he  acted,  and  not  before.  At  times  I 
thought  that  he  was  timid,  overcautious ;  but  in  the  end 
he  was  right  and  I  was  wrong.  Mr.  Lincoln's  ideas  were 
that  men  do  not  of  themselves  make  events,  but  that 
events  make  men.  Hence  he  waited  with  a  cautious 
patience,  a  philosophic  judgment,  on  the  constant  and 
regular  flow  and  logic  of  them. 

Give  Mr.  Lincoln  his  own  time  and  he  was  a  man  of 
great  common  sense,  which  he  applied  to  the  daily  and 
practical  affairs  of  men;  he  was  not  a  genius,  but  was 
better ;  he  was  a  good  man,  an  honest  man,  a  sound  man, 
and  an  upright  and  downright  one.  When  he  once 
formed  an  opinion  he  never  took  a  backward  step. 
What  I  have  said  to  you  herein  marked  him  somewhat 
as  a  politician  and  a  statesman.     Mr.  Lincoln  trusted  in 


LETTER  FROM  LINCOLN'S  LAW  PARTNER.         19 

the  people  and  appealed  to  them,  and  they  in  their  turn 
trusted  and  appealed  to  him.  Neither  was  disappointed. 
If  what  I  have  stated  to  you  is  correct,  truthful,  then 
Mr.  Lincoln  must  have  written  something  on  the  subject 
of  education.  If  he  had  faith  in  the  people  —  if  he 
thought  that  universal  education  should  go  along  with 
and  accompany  the  universal  ballot ;  and  if  he  thought 
that  the  strongest,  firmest  and  most  enduring  basis  of  a 
Republic  was  the  thorough  and  universal  education  of 
the  great  mass  of  our  people,  then  he  must  have  taken  a 
firm  stand  on  this  great  question,  and  so  he  did.  Let 
me  explain.  Mr.  Lincoln  became  a  candidate  in  this 
State  (Illinois)  in  1832,  for  the  Legislature.  It  was  then 
and  continued  for  years  to  be  a  custom  for  the  respective 
candidates  to  issue  a  handbill  —  a  program  of  the  princi- 
ples which  they  would  advocate  if  elected  to  the  honorable 
position.  According  to  that  universal  and  long-settled 
custom  here  in  this  State,  Mr.  Lincoln  did  on  the  ninth  day 
of  March,  1832,  issue  his  handbill,  containing  the  things 
—  subjects  and  laws  which  he  would  advocate  in  the 
Legislature,  if  elected.  Mr.  Lincoln  travelled  around  the 
country,  saw  the  people,  and  asked  them  to  support  him 
for  the  causes  which  he  advocated  on  the  stump  and  in 
his  handbill.    In  that  handbill  he  uses  these  exact  words  : 

"  Upon  the  subject  of  education,  not  promising  to  dictate  any 
plan  or  system  respecting  it,  I  can  only  say  that  I  view  it  as  the 
most  important  subject  which  we  as  a  people  can  he  engaged  in. 
That  every  man  may  receive  at  least  a  moderate  education  and 
thereby  be  enabled  to  read  the  histories  of  his  own  and  other 
countries,  by  which  he  may  duly  appreciate  the  value  of  our  free 
institutions,  appears  to  be  an  object  of  vital  importance  even  on 
this  account  alone,  to  say  nothing  of  the  advantages  and  satisfac- 
tion to  be  derived  from  all  being  able  to  read  the  Scriptures  and 
other  works,  both  of  a  religious  and  moral  nature,  for  themselves. 


20  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"For  my  part,  I  desire  to  see  the  time  when  education  —  and 
by  its  means,  morality,  sobriety,  enterprise  and  industry  —  shall 
become  much  more  general  than  at  present,  and  should  be  gratified 
to  have  it  in  my  power  to  contribute  something  to  the  advance- 
ment of  any  measure  which  might  have  a  tendency  to  accelerate 
the  happy  period." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  defeated  in  1832,  bnt  was  elected  in 
1834  to  the  Legislature.  I  have  been  informed,  but  do 
not  know  of  my  own  knowledge,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  most 
heartily  supported  every  measure  which  came  before  the 
Legislature  touching  the  question  of  the  people's  educa- 
tion and  common  schools.  I  have  been  told  this  by  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State  in  1834-35.  I 
believe  it.  In  short,  on  this  question,  Mr.  Lincoln's 
ideas  of  the  education  of  the  people  were  practical ;  he 
wished  the  people  educated  and  enlightened  on  practical 
questions  for  a  practical  life  and  an  immediate,  practical 
end.  He  was  a  practical  man  in  all  the  ways  and  walks 
of  life.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a  great  general  reader,  but 
was  a  special  one.  When  he  wished  to  know  anything 
he  hunted  it  up  and  dug  it  out  to  the  small,  fibrous  end 
of  the  very  taproot.  I  say  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  prac- 
tical man,  and  hence  he  was  a  special  man ;  that  is,  he 
worked  for  a  practical  and  paying  end.  He  did  not 
much  care  to  know  anything  that  he  would  have  no  use 
for.  Politics  was  his  constant  study  and  newspapers  his 
ever  present  library.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  great  practical 
—  the  embodiment  of  caution  and  prudence.  "  Take  him 
all  in  all,  and  we  shall  not  soon  see  his  like  again." 

As  remarked,  many,  many  times  before,  Mr.  Lincoln 
had  a  keen,  quick  sense  of  the  eternal  right  and  just. 
Seeing  that  Woman  was  denied  in  free  America  her  right 
to  the  elective  franchise,  being  the  equal  but  the  other 


LETTER  FROM  LINCOLN'S  LAW  PARTNER.  21 

side  —  the  other  and  better  half  of  man  —  he  always 
advocated  her  rights  —  yes,  rights.  In  the  year  1836  Mr. 
Lincoln  issued  a  kind  of  handbill,  making  a  declaration 
of  some  things  which  he  wished  and  would  advocate,  and 
among  them  were  these  —  I  quote  his  words : 

"  I  go  for  all  sharing  the  privileges  of  the  Government  who 
assist  in  bearing  its  burdens.  Consequently,  I  go  for  admitting 
all  whites  to  the  right  of  suffrage  who  pay  taxes  or  bear  arms,  by 
no  means  excluding  females. 

"  If  elected  I  shall  consider  the  whole  people  of  Sangamon  my 
constituents,  as  well  those  who  oppose  as  those  that  support  me." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  twenty-three  years  of  age  when  he 
issued  his  first  handbill  in  1832,  and  twenty-seven  when 
he  issued  the  one  in  1836.  When  Mr.  Lincoln  once,  as 
said  before,  on  due  consideration,  took  a  step  forward,  he 
never  took  one  backward.  He  would  at  any  time  have 
supported  and  advocated  and  voted  for  woman's  rights. 
Though  he  believed  in  woman's  rights,  he  thought  the 
time  probably  had  not  yet  come  to  openly  advocate  the 
idea  before  the  people.  He  said :  "  This  question  is  one 
simply  of  time." 

Springfield,  III. 


LINCOLN'S   FAITH  IN  PRAYER. 

AFTER  GETTYSBURG. 

i 
BY   GEN.  JAMES  F.  RUSLING,  LL.D. 

Of  course,  secession  was  a  miserable  sophism,  and  the 
Southern  Confederacy  based  on  slavery  was  an  anachro- 
nism. It  was  a  pirate-ship  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It 
sailed  under  the  curse  of  both  God  and  man,  and  was 
sure  to  sink  or  be  sunk  in  due  time.  But  whether  we 
could  have  made  such  a  good  fight  against  it  as  we  did, 
with  any  other  chief  and  leader  than  President  Lincoln, 
may  well  be  doubted.  It  is  true,  he  did  not  have  the  cult- 
ure and  prestige  of  Mr.  Seward ;  but  he  had  real  breadth 
and  sagacity,  fine  moral  fibre,  and  was  pre-eminently  a 
man  of  his  age  and  time. 

It  may  be  his  early  beliefs  were  unsettled  and  variable ; 
but  it  is  certain  that  our  great  War,  as  it  progressed, 
sobered  and  steadied  him,  and  that  in  the  end  he  came  to 
accept  as  the  rule  of  his  life  "to  do  justice,  to  love 
mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  before  God."  As  striking 
evidence  of  this,  I  beg  to  give  a  significant  conversation 
of  his  in  my  presence,  in  July,  1863,  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  on  the  Sunday  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
General  Sickles,  of  New  York,  had  lost  a  leg  on  the 
second  day  at  Gettysburg,  while  in  command  of  the  Third 
Corps,  and  arrived  in  Washington  on  the  Sunday  follow- 
ing (July  5th).     As  a  member  of  his  staff,  I  called  to  see 

22 


LINCOLN'S  FAITH  IN  PRAYER.  23 

him,  and  while  there  Mr.  Lincoln  also  called,  with  his 
son  Tad,  and  remained  an  hour  or  more.  He  greeted 
Sickles  very  heartily  and  kindly,  of  course,  and  compli- 
mented him  on  his  stout  fight  at  Gettysburg,  and  then, 
after  inquiring  about  our  killed  and  wounded  generally, 
passed  on  to  the  question  as  to  what  Meade  was  going  to 
do  with  his  victory.  They  discussed  this  pro  and  con  at 
some  length,  Lincoln  hoping  for  great  results  if  Meade 
only  pressed  Lee  actively,  but  Sickles  was  dubious  and 
diplomatic,  as  became  so  astute  a  man.  And  then, 
presently,  General  Sickles  turned  to  him,  and  asked  what 
he  thought  during  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  and  whether 
he  was  not  anxious  about  it  ? 

Mr.  Lincoln  gravely  replied,  no,  he  was  not ;  that  some 
of  his  Cabinet  and  many  others  in  Washington  were,  but 
that  he  himself  had  had  no  fears.  General  Sickles  in- 
quired how  this  was,  and  seemed  curious  about  it.  Mr. 
Lincoln  hesitated,  but  finally  replied:  "Well,  I  will 
tell  you  how  it  was.  In  the  pinch  of  your  campaign  up 
there,  when  everybody  seemed  panic-stricken,  and  no- 
body could  tell  what  was  going  to  happen,  oppressed  by 
the  gravity  of  our  affairs,  I  went  into  my  room  one  day 
and  locked  the  door,  and  got  down  on  my  knees  before 
Almighty  God,  and  prayed  to  him  mightily  for  victory 
at  Gettysburg.  I  told  him  this  was  his  war,  and  our 
cause  his  cause,  but  that  we  couldn't  stand  another 
Fredericksburg  or  Chancellorsville.  And  I  then  and 
there  made  a  solemn  vow  to  Almighty  God  that  if  he 
would  stand  by  our  boys  at  Gettysburg  I  would  stand  by 
him.  And  he  did,  and  I  will.  And  after  that  —  I  don't 
know  how  it  was  and  I  can't  explain  it  —  but  soon  a  sweet 
comfort  crept  into  my  soul  that  things  would  go  all  right 
at  Gettysburg,  and  that  is  why  I  had  no  fears  about  you." 


24  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

He  said  this  solemnly  and  pathetically,  as  if  from  the 
very  depths  of  his  heart,  and  both  Sickles  and  I  were 
deeply  touched  by  his  manner. 

Presently  General  Sickles  asked  him  what  news  he 
had  from  Vicksburg.  He  answered,  he  had  none  worth 
mentioning,  but  that  Grant  was  still  "  pegging  away " 
down  there,  and  he  thought  a  good  deal  of  him  as  a  gen- 
eral and  wasn't  going  to  remove  him,  though  urged  to  do 
so ;  and  "  Besides,"  he  added,  "  I  have  been  praying  over 
Vicksburg  also,  and  believe  our  Heavenly  Father  is  going 
to  give  us  victory  there  too,  because  we  need  it,  in  order 
to  bisect  the  Confederacy  and  have  the  Mississippi  flow 
unvexed  to  the  sea."  Of  course  he  did  not  know  that 
Vicksburg  had  already  fallen,  July  4th,  and  that  a  gun- 
boat was  soon  to  arrive  at  Cairo  with  the  great  news  that 
was  to  make  that  Fourth  of  July  memorable  in  history 
forever. 

He  said  these  things  very  deliberately  and  touchingly, 
as  if  he  believed  thoroughly  in  them.  Of  course,  I  do 
not  give  his  exact  words,  but  very  nearly  his  words,  and 
his  ideas  precisely.  He  asked  us  not  to  repeat  what  he 
said  —  at  least,  not  then  —  lest  "  people  might  laugh,  you 
know."  But  his  tragic  death,  and  the  long  lapse  of  years 
since,  and  his  imputed  infidelity  if  not  atheism,  would 
seem  to  justify  my  speaking  now.  General  Sickles  also 
well  remembers  the  above  conversation,  and  gave  the 
substance  of  it  in  a  recent  after-dinner  address  in  Wash- 
ington, but  not  so  fully  as  the  above.  Of  course,  he 
could  not  be  expected  to  recall  it  so  well,  "  done  to  the 
death"  as  he  then  nearly  was.  Altogether,  we  Ameri- 
cans may  well  be  proud  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  If  not  our 
first  American,  he  is  at  least  only  second  after  George 
Washington ;  and  he  will  go  down  to  history  an  honor 


LINCOLN' }S  FAITH  IN  PRAYER.  25 

and  a  credit  to  human  nature.  In  any  other  age  he 
would  long  since  have  been  canonized  as  Abraham  the 
Just  or  St.  Abraham  the  Good.  On  this  the  thirtieth 
anniversary  of  his  assassination  let  us  devoutly  say  of 
him,  as  was  said  of  that  good  knight  of  old : 

"  His  good  sword  is  rust, 
His  bones  are  dust, 
His  soul  is  with  the  saints, 
We  trust." 
Trenton,  N.  J. 


KECOLLECTIONS   OF  ABKAHAM  LINCOLN. 

HISTORY  OF  HIS  FIRST  VISIT  TO  NEW  YORK  AND 
NEW  ENGLAND  — NEW  FACTS,  WITH  INCIDENTS  AND 
STORIES. 

BY  HENRY  C.   BOWEN, 

EDITOB,   PTTBLI8HEE  AND  PfiOPBIETOE    OF    THE   "INDEPENDENT,"   AND  ONE  OF    ITS 

FOUNDEBS  IN  1848. 

In  1858  Abraham  Lincoln  was  nominated  at  Spring- 
field, 111.,  by  the  Kepublican  State  Convention  as  the 
candidate  for  United  States  Senator  from  Illinois  in 
place  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who  desired  re-election  to 
that  office  afterward.  Lincoln  challenged  Douglas  to 
canvass  the  State  with  him  and  publicly  discuss  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery.  This  discussion  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  whole  American  people  to  Mr.  Lincoln  as  a  man 
of  great  intellectual  and  oratorical  power  —  a  splendid, 
keen,  quick-sighted  platform  speaker.  His  speeches  dur- 
ing that  campaign  were  reported  and  read  in  every  part 
of  the  country.  They  were  noticeable  for  their  brilliant 
and  humorous  illustrations,  which  made  them  very  effec- 
tive. I  read  most  of  these  speeches  with  interest,  and 
they  made  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind.  The  fresh 
and  aggressive  style  of  Lincoln  led  me  then  to  think  that 
he  had  a  brilliant  political  future  of  great  value  to  the 
Republican  Party. 

During  the  winter  of  1859  several  young  men  in  New 

26 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  27 

York,  including  Mr.  Joseph  H.  Richards,  who  was  then 
in  my  employ  and  connected  with  the  Independent  as 
its  publisher ;  Mr.  S.  W.  Tubbs,  receiving  teller  of  the 
Park  Bank ;  Mr.  S.  M.  Pettingill,  a  well-known  advertis- 
ing agent,  and  the  Hon.  James  A.  Briggs,  decided  to 
arrange  for  a  lecture  to  promote  a  benevolent  object  — 
supplementary  to  a  course  in  Brooklyn.  They  wanted  a 
man  who  would  draw  a  crowd  and  make  the  lecture  a  suc- 
cess, they  said,  and  asked  me  if  I  could  name  such  a  man. 

1  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  by  reputation,  as  a  lawyer,  before 
his  platform  contests  with  Douglas  in  Illinois.  He  had 
been  employed  by  my  firm  —  Bowen  &  McNamee  —  on 
several  occasions.  We  found  him  to  be  able,  efficient 
and  successful.  I  gave  it  as  my  decided  opinion  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  would  be  the  best  man  to  fill  Cooper  Insti- 
tute. The  expense  would  be  large  in  bringing  him  here 
from  Illinois ;  but  the  young  men  decided  to  take  the 
risk  of  inviting  him.  The  compensation  offered  was 
$200,  which  included  all  his  expenses.  The  proposal 
made  to  him  was  promptly  accepted,  and  on  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's arrival  in  New  York  he  came  directly  to  my  office, 
where  I  was  very  glad  to  receive  him.  I  had  never  seen 
him  before.  His  personal  appearance  surprised  me  some- 
what. 

The  introductory  conversation  was  quickly  over,  and 
he  immediately  made  himself  at  home,  completely  cov- 
ering the  sofa,  which  was  quite  too  small  and  short  for 
his  extended  figure.  I  soon  saw  he  was  a  talker.  He 
bubbled  over  with  stories  and  jokes,  and  speedily  con- 
vinced me  that  I  had  made  no  mistake  in  recommending 
him  as  a  lecturer.  After  an  hour's  talk  I  asked  him 
where  he  was  stopping  in  the  city,  and  he  said  he  had 
a  quiet  room  in  the  Metropolitan  Hotel  where  he  could 


28  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

have  a  chance  to  think.  I  invited  him  to  be  my  guest 
in  Brooklyn ;  but  he  declined,  saying  he  was  afraid  he 
had  made  a  mistake  in  accepting  the  call  to  New  York, 
and  feared  his  lecture  would  not  prove  a  success.  He 
said  he  would  have  to  give  his  whole  time  to  it,  otherwise 
he  was  sure  he  would  make  a  failure,  in  which  case  he 
would  be  very  sorry  for  the  young  men  who  had  kindly 
invited  him.  This  interview  was  on  Saturday.  I  then 
said :  "  Will  you  come  to  Brooklyn  and  attend  church 
with  me  on  Sunday  ? "  He  said  he  would  be  very  glad 
to  do  so.  He  asked  where  I  attended  church.  I  told 
him  Plymouth  Church;  and  he  said  he  would  like  to 
hear  Mr.  Beecher,  and  that  he  would  come  over  in  good 
time.  I  then  invited  him  to  dine  with  me  after  the 
morning  service.  He  said  he  would  do  so.  Soon  after 
ten  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  he  appeared  at  the  door 
of  the  church  where  I  was  waiting  for  him,  and  I  es- 
corted him  to  my  pew.  His  presence  in  the  church  was 
unknown  to  anybody.  A  few  moments  before  the  service 
commenced  I  introduced  him  to  Mr.  Horace  B.  Claflin, 
who  sat  in  the  next  pew  behind  me.  He  talked  with 
him  a  moment,  and  then  Mr.  Claflin  turned  round  and 
spoke  to  his  neighbor  in  the  adjoining  pew;  and  I  am 
pretty  sure  that  within  ten  minutes  a  large  proportion 
of  the  audience  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  was  present.  The 
sermon  seemed  to  interest  him  very  much,  and  after  the 
meeting  closed  I  invited  Mr.  Beecher — on  a  slip  of 
paper  —  to  come  down  and  speak  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  He 
did  so,  and  the  interview  seemed  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  audience,  who  remained,  almost  in  a  body,  to  look 
at  the  distinguished  stranger  from  Illinois.  All  seemed 
anxious  to  shake  hands  with  him,  and  hundreds  did  so. 
Finally  he  said:   "I   think,  Mr.  Bowen,  we  have  had 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  29 

enough  of  this  show,  and  I  will  now  go  with  you."  We 
started  from  the  church,  passed  through  the  crowd  and 
went  to  my  house.  When  we  got  to  the  front  steps  he 
said :  "  Mr.  Bowen,  I  guess  I  will  not  go  in."  My  reply 
was :  "  My  good  sir,  we  have  arranged  to  have  you  dine 
with  us,  and  we  cannot  excuse  you."  His  reply  was : 
"  Now,  look  here,  Mr.  Bowen,  I  am  not  going  to  make  a 
failure  at  the  Cooper  Institute  to-morrow  night,  if  I  can 
possibly  help  it.  I  am  anxious  to  make  a  success  of  it 
on  account  of  the  young  men  who  have  so  kindly  in- 
vited me  here.  It  is  on  my  mind  all  the  time,  and  I 
cannot  be  persuaded  to  accept  your  hospitality  at  this 
time.  Please  excuse  me  and  let  me  go  to  my  room  at 
the  hotel,  lock  the  door,  and  there  think  about  my 
lecture." 

The  lecture  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  to  give  on  Monday 
evening  was  fairly  well  advertised ;  but  the  young  men, 
who  greatly  desired  his  success  —  mainly,  for  financial 
reasons  —  did  not  seem  to  be  very  enthusiastic,  Mr. 
Richards  said,  about  the  result. 

The  evening  came,  and  everybody  was  apparently  as- 
tonished to  see  a  crowded  house.  The  speech,  which 
was  mostly  on  slavery  and  kindred  topics,  was  regarded 
a  most  wonderful  success  ;  it  seemed  to  please  everybody. 
He  presented  point  after  point  in  such  a  fair,  happy  and 
telling  way,  that  he  made  an  army  of  friends  at  once ; 
even  the  proslavery  men  present  —  attracted  there  to  see 
the  man  who  had  the  reputation  of  whipping  Douglas  — 
went  away  saying:  "Well,  I  like  that  man,  if  I  don't 
agree  with  him."  "  He  is  a  good  fellow,  anyway."  "  He 
doesn't  make  you  mad  as  Garrison  and  Phillips  do,"  etc. 
More  zealous  Republicans  were  probably  made  within 
twenty-four  hours  after  the  delivery  of  that  speech  than 


30  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

existed  before  in  the  whole  city.  The  Tribune  and 
other  newspapers  reported  his  speech  fully,  and  very 
little  was  said  in  any  quarter  against  it.  Within  two 
days  letters  and  telegrams  came  pouring  in  from  all 
quarters  inviting  Mr.  Lincoln  to  lecture.  The  Hon. 
Hugh  H.  Osgood,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  made  the  first 
application  to  Mr.  Lincoln  for  a  lecture  in  that  city.  He 
had  obtained  the  names  and  influence  of  most  of  the 
leading  men  in  Norwich  to  aid  him,  and  it  was  at  once 
decided  that  Mr.  Lincoln  should  go  East,  speaking  in 
New  Haven,  Hartford,  Norwich,  and  also  at  Providence. 
Within  ten  days  Abraham  Lincoln  was  everywhere,  in 
Kepublican  circles,  spoken  of  and  applauded  for  his 
boldness  and  wisdom  and  was  pronounced  the  "coming 
man  "  and  a  great  acquisition  to  the  ranks  of  outspoken 
antislavery  men. 

The  following  May,  at  the  Kepublican  National  Con- 
vention, which,  fortunately  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  met  at 
Chicago,  he  was  made  the  candidate  of  the  party  for 
President.  While  he  was  popular  and  well  spoken  of  in 
all  quarters,  very  few  believed  that  he  would  be  nomi- 
nated, and  I  was  among  them.  My  choice  was  William 
H.  Seward  for  President,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  for  Vice- 
President.  The  convention  was  greatly  excited;  the 
friends  of  Seward  were  legion,  and  they  did  their  very 
best  to  secure  his  nomination.  Mr.  Seward  obtained  on 
the  first  ballot  173^  votes,  Mr.  Lincoln,  102,  and  the  re- 
mainder were  much  scattered.  At  the  second  ballot,  it 
seemed  certain  that  Mr.  Seward  would  triumph  by  a  very 
large  majority.  But  when  the  vote  was  taken,  it  showed 
184J-  for  Seward  and  181  for  Lincoln.  The  third  ballot 
gave  Mr.  Lincoln  231^-  votes  —  only  two  short  of  the 
number  required  to   nominate  him  —  when,  before   the 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  31 

result  was  declared,  enough  Ohio  and  New  England  votes 
were  promptly  given  to  nominate  him.  But  that  mere 
majority  was  not  permitted  to  stand  on  the  record,  for 
State  after  State  wheeled  into  the  Lincoln  ranks,  and, 
amid  immense  enthusiasm,  he  was  made  by  a  unanimous 
vote,  on  the  motion  of  the  Hon.  Win.  M.  Evarts  (Seward's 
strongest  friend),  the  Republican  candidate  for  President ; 
and  in  due  time  he  was  elected  the  first  Republican  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

In  a  long  and  private  conversation  with  President  Lin- 
coln during  a  whole  evening  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  dur- 
ing the  week  of  his  inauguration,  he  gave  me  a  history 
of  his  feelings  and  anxieties  during  the  campaign.  He 
said  he  had  "  gone  his  whole  length  "  for  the  Eepublican 
Party  (six  feet  and  four  inches,  I  thought),  and  he  felt 
that  the  nation  was  thoroughly  aroused  and  enthusiastic, 
as  never  before,  for  the  overthrow  of  slavery  and  the 
establishment  of  freedom  throughout  the  land.  He  was 
sure,  he  said,  "  from  the  word  go,"  after  his  nomination 
that  he  would  be  elected. 

In  November,  on  the  day  of  the  election,  he  said  he 
was  calm  and  sure  of  the  result.  The  first  news  he 
received,  mostly  from  New  York,  was  unfavorable,  and 
he  felt  a  little  discouraged.  Later  the  dispatches  indi- 
cated a  turn  in  the  tide,  and  when  he  learned  of  his 
election  he  said  his  heart  overflowed  with  thanksgiving 
to  God  for  his  providential  goodness  to  our  beloved 
country.  He  continued :  "  I  cannot  conceal  the  fact  that 
I  was  a  very  happy  man,"  and  then  he  added,  with  much 
feeling,  "Who  could  help  being-  so  under  such  circum- 
stances ?  "  He  then  said  that  "  the  enthusiastic  greet- 
ings of  his  neighbors  and  friends  during  the  evening,  at 
the  Club,"  together  with  the  numerous  telegrams  which 


32  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

poured  in  upon  him,  "well-nigh  upset  him  with  joy." 
At  a  late  hour  he  left  the  Club  rooms  and  went  home  to 
talk  over  matters  with  his  wife.  Before  going  to  the 
Club  that  evening  to  get  the  election  news  as  it  came  in, 
he  said :  "  I  told  my  wife  to  go  to  bed,  as  probably  I 
should  not  be  back  before  midnight.  When  at  about 
twelve  o'clock  the  news  came  informing  me  of  my 
election  I  said  :  '  Boys,  I  think  I  will  go  home  now ;  for 
there  is  a  little  woman  there  who  would  like  to  hear  the 
news.'  The  Club  gave  me  three  rousing  cheers,  and  then 
I  left.  On  my  arrival  I  went  to  my  bedroom  and  found 
my  wife  sound  asleep.  I  gently  touched  her  shoulder 
and  said,  '  Mary ' ;  she  made  no  answer.  I  spoke  again, 
a  little  louder,  saying,  'Mary,  Mary!  ive  are  elected!' 
Well,"  continued  the  President,  "  I  then  went  to  bed,  but 
before  I  went  to  sleep  I  selected  every  member  of  my 
Cabinet,  save  one.  I  determined  on  Seward  for  my 
Secretary  of  State,  Chase  for  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
Welles,  whose  acquaintance  I  made  in  Hartford,  for 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  Blair  and  others  for  the  other 
positions ;  but  I  was  induced  to  make  one  or  two  changes 
when  I  got  to  Washington.  My  Cabinet,  however,  was 
substantially  fixed  upon  that  night.  I  wanted  Seward, 
for  I  had  the  highest  respect  for  him  and  the  utmost 
confidence  in  his  ability.  I  wanted  Chase,  also ;  I  con- 
sidered him  one  of  the  ablest,  best  and  most  reliable  men 
in  the  country  and  a  good  representative  of  the  pro- 
gressive, antislavery  element  in  the  party."  In  a  word 
he  said  he  "  wanted  all  his  competitors  to  have  a  place  in 
his  Cabinet  in  order  to  create  harmony  in  the  party." 

In  1862  Mr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Tilton,  who  had  then,  by 
contract,  the  sole  editorial  control  of  the  paper,  while  I 
retained  direction  only  of  the  financial  and  other  business 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  33 

departments,  felt  it  to  be  their  duty,  against  my  wishes, 
to  criticise  President  Lincoln  for  "not  moving  more 
rapidly  in  suppressing  the  Rebellion."  At  one  time, 
while  General  McClellan  was  the  leader  of  our  armies 
in  Virginia,  the  editors,  believing  that  the  great  body  of 
the  people  demanded  more  activity,  spoke  out  plainly, 
and  perhaps  too  much  so,  about  the  "  slow  course  of  the 
President."  Mr.  Lincoln  felt  deeply  grieved  by  these 
criticisms  in  the  Independent  and  spoke  about  it  to  a 
mutual  friend  —  the  Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax  —  supposing, 
as  he  did,  that  I  was  then  the  sole  owner  and  editor  of 
the  paper.  Mr.  Colfax  —  then  a  leading  Republican 
Congressman  from  the  West  —  lost  no  time  in  writing 
me  on  the  subject.  My  reply  to  him  was  that  I  did  not 
control  the  editorial  columns  of  the  Independent  except 
in  the  business  departments,  and  requested  him  kindly  to 
state  that  fact  to  the  President.  He  did  so  immediately, 
but  thought  I  had  better  let  the  President  know  this  by 
a  personal  interview  —  if  I  could  go  to  Washington  —  or, 
if  not,  by  letter.  I  went  immediately  to  Washington  and 
called  without  delay  at  the  White  House.  An  immense 
crowd  was  there,  and  after  waiting  an  hour  or  more,  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  no  chance  of  seeing 
the  President  that  morning.  The  city  was  then  in  the 
greatest  excitement  —  as  was  the  whole  country  —  about 
the  news  from  the  battle-fields ;  and  I  saw  that  the  poor 
man  had  enough  on  his  mind  to  crush  him,  without  my 
adding  a  feather's  weight  to  his  troubles.  I  started  to 
go  to  my  hotel,  when,  in  passing  out  of  the  reception 
room,  I  met  the  President  face  to  face,  on  his  way  from 
his  office  downstairs  to  his  luncheon.  He  grasped  my 
hand  and  said :  "  Well,  well !  is  this  you  ?  What  can  I 
do  for  you  ?  "     I  commenced  to  tell  my  errand,  when  he 

D 


34  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

broke  out  in  the  most  tender  and  touching  words,  saying : 
"  Mr.  Bowen,  I  now  know  your  position ;  it  is  all  right. 
I  am  sorry  you  troubled  yourself  to  come  here.  Pray 
don't  bother  yourself  a  moment " ;  and  with  many  kind 
words  he  pressed  my  hand,  and  we  parted. 

Never  after  that  interview  did  the  President  have 
occasion  to  criticise  the  Independent  for  deviating  from 
its  uniform  course  in  doing  all  in  its  power  to  sustain 
and  encourage  him  in  his  efforts  for  the  suppression  of  the 
Eebellion.  Such  measures,  however,  were  soon  adopted 
by  him  as  led  the  people  of  the  whole  North,  and  par- 
ticularly the  newspapers,  to  see  that  President  Lincoln 
meant  to  do  his  duty  faithfully,  that  he  was  pushing  the 
conflict  as  rapidly  and  wisely  as  it  was  safe  to  do. 

New  York  City. 


SOME    REMINISCENCES     OE    ABEAHAM    LIN- 
COLN. 

LINCOLN'S     VISITS    TO    THE    ARMY  — "THE    SKEARED 
VIRGINIAN"  — A  MAN  TO  BE  REVERENCED. 

BY  MAJOR-GEN.  OLIVER  OTIS  HOWARD,  U.  S.  A.  (RETIRED). 

It  was  not  my  good  fortune  to  have  known  Abraham 
Lincoln  before  I  took  my  regiment,  the  Third  Maine 
Volunteers,  to  Washington,  and  encamped  it  on  Meridian 
Hill,  near  the  Columbian  College,  the  first  week  of  June, 
1861.  The  officers  of  the  regiment,  after  our  arrival,  took 
great  pains  to  have  a  good  evening  parade  about  sun- 
down on  every  fair  day;  and  so,  as  to  Burnside's  encamp- 
ment of  his  Ehode  Island  Brigade,  in  another  part  of 
Washington,  and  Butterfield's  Twelfth  New  York  on 
Franklin  Square,  visitors  from  the  city  every  evening 
came  in  carriages  to  witness  the  exercises.  Sometimes 
Cabinet  officers  and  members  of  Congress  sat  in  their 
carriages  and  observed  us  while  the  parade  went  on.  Mr. 
Lincoln  himself  came  two  or  three  times  and  looked  on 
with  evident  interest ;  but  before  I  had  finished  my  part 
of  receiving  and  conducting  the  exercise  he  had  ridden 
away,  so  that  I  did  not  then  make  his  personal  acquaint- 
ance. 

A  little  later  there  was  some  consultation  of  army 
leaders  by  Cabinet  officers  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
at  the  White  House,  and  I  was  among  them.     At  that 

35 


36  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

time  I  must  have  been  introduced  to  the  President,  but 
think  only  in  a  hurried  way,  as  we  came  together  into 
the  middle  room  and  immediately  took  seats.  Several 
officers  took  part  in  the  conversation.  I  remember  only 
that  Mr.  Seward  answered  a  proposition  from  me  in  such 
a  way  that  it  made  me  feel  very  small  and  very  young. 
I  now  only  recall  the  fact  of  a  young  man's  mortification 
and  his  resolution  thereafter  to  hearken  diligently  and 
say  little. 

The  next  occasion  when  I  observed  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
after  I  had  been  promoted  to  a  brigadier-general  (Sep- 
tember, 1861) ;  and  while  waiting  orders  at  Washington, 
McClellan  had  a  grand  review,  and  I  crossed  the  long 
bridge  and  went  over  beyond  the  Arlington  Heights  to 
view  the  handling  of  the  troops  on  that  occasion.  I  met 
some  old  army  acquaintances  with  ladies,  also  looking  on 
from  a  nice  position.  As  I  approached  I  was  made  to 
feel  that  my  presence  among  these  old-time  friends  was 
not  welcome.  These  ladies  and  all  about  them  were  in 
sympathy  with  the  Rebellion  and  laughed  at  me  as  a 
new-fledged  brigadier  on  the  Yankee  side.  Mr.  Lincoln's 
curious  appearance  on  horseback,  with  his  long  stirrups 
and  his  hat  apparently  on  the  back  of  his  head,  was  the 
cause  of  all  sorts  of  satirical  and  unkind  remarks  among 
my  neighbors.  As  I  already  esteemed  him  highly  I 
quickly  left  them.  It  was  while  returning  to  Washing- 
ton after  that  parade  that  an  officer  complained  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  who  had  threatened  to 
shoot  him  for  some  misconduct,  if  he  repeated  the  offence. 
Mr.  Lincoln  told  the  officer  in  a  quiet  whisper  aside,  that 
Sherman  was  a  man  of  his  word  and  might  do  it.  Surely 
the  officer  must  not  again  give  him  the  occasion. 

I  think  that  I  must  have  seen  Mr.  Lincoln  at  different 


SOME  REMINISCENCES  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.     37 

times  when  he  came  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  on  the  Pen- 
insula, but  no  public  reception  now  impresses  me  like  that 
given  him  in  the  fall  of  1862  at  Harper's  Ferry.  We  had 
passed  through  the  not  very  decisive  battle  of  Antietam. 
My  division,  the  second  of  Sumner's  corps,  had  cleared 
the  field  of  wrecks  and  disabled  animals,  and  buried  the 
dead.  It  had  then  marched  on  and  caught  up  with  the 
main  army,  encamped  about  that  historic  pocket — what 
the  French  would  properly  call  a  cul  de  sac  —  Harper's 
Ferry.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  with  him  at  this  time 
quite  a  staff.  An  officer  who  rode  by  his  side  during 
the  review  of  the  troops,  besides  McClellan,  was  the 
already  distinguished  Western  general,  McClernand.  He 
seemed  then  to  have  a  grievance  against  Grant.  From 
some  remarks  dropped  I  have  always  thought  that  at 
that  time  he  had  just  been  relieved  from  the  command  of 
his  Thirteenth  Corps,  and  wanted  to  be  restored,  or  to 
have  another  equivalent,  or  better,  assigned  him.  What 
struck  me  by  the  persistence  of  McClernand  was  the  con- 
viction that  Mr.  Lincoln  must  have  continued  worry,  and 
be  forced  to  exercise  extraordinary  patience  under  the 
ever-reiterated  grievances  of  old  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances. 

As  the  generals  and  handsome  staff  officers  escorted 
the  President  near  to  my  front  I  joined  the  reviewing 
party.  Mr.  Lincoln  rode  along  in  silence,  returning  the 
salutes.  As  soon  as  the  solemn  review  was  over,  he 
lightened  up.  Noticing  Major  Whittlesey  of  my  staff  re- 
ceiving some  order  from  me  and  riding  off,  some  one  said 
to  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  he  noticed  and  spoke  of  Whittlesey's 
fine  figure  and  splendid  horsemanship,  "  that  Major  was 
before  the  War  a  minister ! "  Mr.  Lincoln  smiling,  re- 
joined: "He  looks  more  the  cavalier  than  the  clergy- 


38  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

man ! "  When  we  passed  through  a  field  where  a  few 
stumps  remained  cut  rather  high  up,  he  contrasted  that 
sort  of  stumping  with  that  in  Illinois,  and  told  an  inci- 
dent concerning  chopping  trees  by  some  public  man, 
which  I  did  not  quite  hear.  Suddenly  we  saw  a  little 
engine  named  "  The  Flying  Dutchman  "  fly  past  us  on  a 
railroad  track.  Mr.  Lincoln  seeing  it  and  hearing  a 
shrill,  wild  scream  from  its  saluting  whistle,  laughed 
aloud.  He  doubtless  was  thinking  of  John  Brown's  ter- 
rorism of  a  few  years  before,  for  we  were  near  the  famous 
engine-house  where  John  Brown  was  finally  penned  up 
and  taken ;  for,  referring  to  the  locomotive,  Mr.  Lincoln 
said :  "  They  ought  to  call  that  thing  i  The  Skeared 
Virginian ' ! " 

Sprightly  as  he  was  in  story-telling  and  in  conversation 
about  what  he  saw  around  him,  he  looked  to  me,  as  soon 
as  he  relapsed  into  silence,  very  careworn  and  very  sad. 
Our  victory  at  Antietam  was  too  little  decisive  to  meet 
the  desire  of  his  heart. 

My  next  interview  with  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  the  spring 
that  succeeded  Fredericksburg.  I  had  been  assigned  by 
him  to  the  Eleventh  Army  Corps  and  was  encamped  near 
Brook's  Station,  a  small  hamlet  on  the  railroad  north  of 
Falmouth.  It  was  in  April,  1863,  soon  after  I  had  gone 
up  there  to  assume  command  from  the  Second  Corps, 
which  was  located  nearer  the  Rappahannock.  My  corps 
was  reviewed  in  the  usual  manner  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  ac- 
companied by  General  Hooker  and  a  small  host  of  attend- 
ants. The  corps  presented  a  fine,  brilliant  appearance 
along  the  hills  and  slopes.  The  Germans  were  remark- 
able for  their  neatness  on  parade  and  for  the  soldierly 
salutes  which  never  failed  to  attract  attention.  I  was 
congratulated  by  observing  officers  upon  such  a  splendid 


SOME  REMINISCENCES  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.      30 

command.  Mr.  Lincoln  said  nothing  till  just  as  lie  was 
finishing  the  review,  when  he  remarked  to  me,  inquir- 
ingly :  "  How  is  it,  General  Howard,  that  you  have  so 
large  a  part  of  your  command  over  there  ?  '  He  referred 
to  those  who  appeared  to  be  off  duty,  and  were  on  the 
slopes  opposite  to  those  in  the  ranks.  Of  course,  I  ex- 
plained as  well  as  I  could  how  the  old  guard,  the  quarter- 
master's men,  the  orderlies,  cooks  and  other  essential 
details,  had  come  out  to  see  the  President.  Mr.  Lincoln 
smiled,  and  said,  gently :  "  That  review  yonder  is  about 
as  big  as  ours ! "  His  evident  criticism  was  a  wholesome 
one  to  the  young  corps  commander.  Those  altogether 
too  large  "  details  "  were  always  a  source  of  great  weak- 
ness to  us  in  time  of  battle. 

I  had  my  new  tent  wonderfully  pitched  by  my  German 
pioneers.  The  approach  was  a  corridor  of  evergreens. 
Mr.  Lincoln  came  around  to  see  it,  and  to  chat  with  me 
alone  for  a  few  minutes.  He  was  now  very  kind  and 
fatherly.  He  took  notice  of  my  tablets,  hung  against  the 
rear  tent-pole  inside.  The  one  for  the  day,  I  think,  was 
the  beginning  of  the  Twenty-third  Psalm  :  "  The  Lord  is 
my  Shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want." 

I  had  reason  to  remember  this  occasion  afterward. 
After  Chancellorsville,  several  officers  high  in  command 
some  aspiring,  went  to  Mr.  Lincoln  at  the  White  House 
and  besought  my  removal.  At  General  Hooker's  tent 
one  day  I  was  made  to  understand  something  of  this 
hostile  action.  I  said  then,  substantially,  to  Hooker, 
during  a  formal  visit  to  his  tent :  "  Whatever  you  think 
of  doing,  I  will  hereafter  simply  mind  my  own  business 
and  obey  orders."  But  as  I  rode  back  the  few  miles  to 
my  headquarters  I  was  dreadfully  depressed.  On  enter- 
ing my  tent  I  looked  up  and  saw  that  strong  promise, 


40  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd."  "Yes,"  I  said,  "why 
didn't  I  think  of  it  ?  "  Mr.  Lincoln's  decision  and  his 
nattering  remark  soon  after  this  were  brought  to  me: 
"  He  is  a  good  man.  Let  him  alone ;  in  time  he  will 
bring  things  straight."  I  felt  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  heart 
beat  in  sympathy  with  mine,  and  I  reverenced  him 
greatly.     I  loved  him. 

After  Gettysburg  I  received  from  him  a  remarkable 
letter.  It  was  in  response  to  mine  urging  the  advantages 
of  keeping  the  army  under  our  new  commander,  General 
Meade.  That  letter  was  long  ago  published  in  the  At- 
lantic Monthly.  You  will  remember  how  two  divisions 
of  my  corps  and  two  of  Slocum's,  with  our  corps  organi- 
zations preserved,  were  detached  in  September,  1863, 
after  Eosecrans's  battle  of  Chickamauga,  and  sent  by  rail 
far  West  to  his  neighborhood,  with  General  Hooker  com- 
manding the  whole  detachment.  Mr.  Lincoln  and  I,  just 
before  my  departure,  had  quite  a  lengthy  talk  in  his 
office  room  at  the  White  House.  He  had  a  fine,  "  well- 
mounted  "  map  hung  upon  a  firm  framework.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln took  me  to  this  map,  and  questioned  me  about  East 
Tennessee.  He  told  me  how  loyal  the  people  of  that 
region  were,  and  asked  my  opinion  about  getting  our 
forces  in  there,  so  as  to  hold  the  country  permanently. 
Just  as  I  was  leaving  I  asked  him  where  he  obtained  his 
map,  showing  him  mine.  "Here,  General,"  he  said, 
"  take  this.  Yours  will  do  for  me.  Mine  will  be  better 
for  you,  as  it  will  stand  more  wear  and  tear." 

His  parting  words  I  cannot  recall,  but  the  impression 
of  them  was  never  effaced.  They  gave  me  a  knowledge 
of  his  confidence  and  a  belief  in  his  personal  interest  and 
affection.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  worthy  to  be  trusted 
and  to  be  loved  by  all  his  countrymen. 

Pobtland,  Ore. 


LINCOLN'S  VIGIL. 

THE  DEFEAT  OF  CHANCELLORSVILLE. 
BY  WILLIAM  O.  STODDAED, 

Private  Secretary  to  Abraham  Lincoln. 

They  seem  far  away  and  almost  unreal,  as  if  they  had 
never  been,  those  long,  overheated  years  with  Lincoln 
in  the  White  House.  Very  few  remain  of  the  men  whose 
names  and  faces  are  associated  in  memory  with  the  events 
of  that  time.  Yet  it  often  seems  strange,  unnatural,  to 
find  that  the  people  met  and  talked  with  in  every-day 
life,  all  of  them  who  are  of  less  than  middle  age,  are  but 
vaguely  informed  concerning  those  events  and  the  actors 
in  them.  Probably  most  of  these  must,  indeed,  be  for- 
gotten, they  were  so  many  and  there  is  so  much  else  that 
this  generation  must  needs  study  and  always  assume  to 
know. 

One  tall  figure,  however,  still  stands  forth,  distinctly 
visible  always,  as  if  it  belonged  to  the  present  as  much 
as  to  the  past  and  would  march  along  forever,  keeping 
step,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  with  the  continuous  history 
of  the  Eepublic. 

Lincoln  cannot  be  forgotten.  He  is  even  better  and 
better  understood  by  thinking  men.  But  there  seems  to 
be  floating  around,  in  the  minds  of  many,  something  of 

41 


42  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  idea  so  curiously  presented  by  one  of  the  dead  Presi- 
dent's old  Illinois  neighbors  : 

"  Linkin  ?  "  said  the  prairie  man ;  "  oh  yes,  I  knowed 
him.  Knowed  his  folks,  too.  They  was  torn-down 
poor.  He  wasn't  much  up  to  the  War  ;  that  was  what 
made  him.  Tell  ye  what,  they  wouldn't  let  on  so  much 
'bout  him  now,  'f  he  hadn't  been  killed.  That  helped 
him,  powerful.  People  kind  o'  sympathized  with  him, 
ye  know.  It  made  him  pop'lar.  He  saved  suthin'  w'ile 
he  was  President,  but  I  don't  reckon  he  left  much  prop- 
pity.     Oh  yes,  I  knowed  Linkin." 

In  strong  contrast  with  this  crude  scepticism  is  the 
marvellous  keenness  of  the  general  popular  instinct  which 
then  recognized,  accepted,  trusted  and  sustained  its  God- 
appointed  leader.  That  he  was  of  God's  appointment 
must  be  apparent  to  any  man  whose  creed  contains  a 
confession  of  a  living  God,  mindful  of  human  affairs. 

It  may  be  noted,  without  any  surprise  whatever,  that 
many  intelligent  persons  who  had  associated  with  Lin- 
coln in  his  earlier  years  were  never,  to  the  end,  able  to 
see  anything  but  what  may  be  called  their  first  mental 
photographs  of  him,  badly  taken,  on  defective  negatives. 
These  were  at  best  but  surface  pictures  and  contained 
only  something  of  the  man  as  he  was  seen  before,  say, 
the  year  1858.  One  of  his  oldest,  most  intimate  profes- 
sional associates  and  latest  biographers,  for  instance,  was 
hardly  acquainted  with  him  at  all;  for  he  did  not  even 
see  him  after  1860. 

During  long  years  prior  to  the  War,  the  actual  growth 
of  so  deep  and  strong  a  nature  was  necessarily  hidden, 
even  from  himself  ;  and  when  its  disclosure  came,  through 
trial  after  trial,  there  was  something  of  surprise  attach- 
ing to   each  successive  manifestation  of  capacity.     His 


LINCOLN'S   VIGIL.  43 

slow  and  somewhat  ponderous  inability  to  hesitate ;  his 
apparently  overconfident  readiness  to  accept  responsi- 
bilities; his  forward  stride  to  grapple  unflinchingly 
with  unknown,  untellable  difficulties,  were  only  the  unex- 
pected expressions  of  his  silent  consciousness  of  power. 
This  subtle,  unformulated  assertion  of  the  strength  that 
was  in  him  was  itself  a  serious  offence,  often,  to  men 
who  thought  they  knew  him,  but  did  not,  and  to  others 
who  could  not  believe  it  possible  for  any  man  to  do  the 
things  which  he  undertook  and  accomplished. 

One  remarkable  feature  of  his  development,  or  of  its 
expression,  was  the  suddenness  with  which,  in  1861,  he 
ceased  to  be  a  party  man,  or  merely  the  head  of  a  party, 
and  became  the  man  of  the  nation.  It  was  true  that  his 
party  itself  underwent  a  change,  welding  in  with  the 
great  mass  of  American  patriotism,  but  its  after  relations 
with  him  contained  little  or  no  mere  partisanship.  It 
was  once  said  of  a  President  elect :  "  Well,  he  was  big 
enough  for  so  small  a  State  as  ours  [his  own] ;  but  I'm 
thinking  he'll  show  kind  o'  thin  when  you  come  to  spread 
him  out  over  the  whole  country."  The  thin  spot  in 
Lincoln's  spreading  out  has  not  yet  been  discovered. 

When  he  went  to  Washington,  in  1861,  and  the  first 
great  army  from  the  North  and  West  poured  in  around 
him,  with  their  haversacks  crammed  with  recommenda- 
tions for  appointment  to  office,  there  was  yet  another 
large  tribe  who  were  sorely  astonished  and  disappointed. 
They  had  known  him  years  and  years,  had  heard  him 
tell  stories  and  try  law  cases,  or  they  had  even  higher 
claims  upon  him,  and  they  wondered  at  the  heartless 
ingratitude  with  which  he  ignored  them  in  making  his 
appointments.  They  never  forgave  him ;  for  they  could 
not  and  would  not  understand  that  to  him  the  public 


44  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

service  was  first,  and  personal  relations  not  so  much 
second  as  simply  somewhere  else.  He  did  not  even 
make  his  own  father  a  brigadier  nor  invite  Dennis  Hanks 
to  a  seat  in  his  Cabinet. 

Lincoln's  work  as  President  and,  to  a  certain  extent, 
as  General-in-Chief  in  charge  of  the  military  operations 
which  were  already  not  only  inevitable  but  actually  pro- 
gressing, began  even  before  his  election.  It  is  no  exag- 
geration to  say  that  thenceforward  his  toil  did  not  cease 
until  the  end.     When  not  asleep  he  was  at  his  task. 

The  White  House  then,  the  Executive  Mansion  as  it 
is  otherwise  described,  was  much  simpler  and  narrower 
in  its  official  staff  and  management  than  it  is  now.  Part 
of  it  was  a  family  residence,  but  all  the  rest,  including 
the  reception  rooms,  was  merely  a  workshop.  There 
were  a  few  days,  truly,  in  the  spring  of  1861,  while 
Washington  City  was  a  frontier  post,  almost  cut  off  from 
the  North,  that  the  great  East  Koom  was  a  camp,  per- 
haps a  fort,  garrisoned  at  night  by  a  regiment  of  office 
seekers  who  had  provided  themselves  with  rifles  and 
were  prepared  to  defend  the  citadel  of  their  prospects 
for  appointment. 

It  was  a  remarkably  silent  workshop,  considering  how 
much  was  going  on  there.  The  very  air  seemed  heavy 
with  the  pressure  of  the  times,  centring  toward  that 
place.  There  was  only  now  and  then  a  day  bright 
enough  to  send  any  great  amount  of  sunshine  into  the 
house,  especially  upstairs.  It  was  not  so  much  that 
coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before,  although  they 
may  have  done  so,  as  that  the  shadows,  the  ghosts,  if 
you  will,  of  all  sorts  of  events,  past,  present  and  to  come, 
trooped  in  and  flitted  around  the  halls  and  lurked  in  the 
corners  of  the  rooms.     The  greater  part  of  them  came 


LINCOLN'S    VIGIL.  45 

over  from  the  War  Office,  westward,  in  company  with 
messengers  carrying  telegraphic  dispatches.  Troops  of 
them  used  to  follow  Stanton  or  Halleck  right  into 
Lincoln's  rooms.  Seward,  too,  was  sometimes  a  gloomy 
messenger;  but  he  was  always  diplomatically  cheerful 
about  it,  and  nobody  could  tell  by  his  face  but  what  he 
was  bringing  good  news.  The  President  could  receive 
any  kind  of  tidings  with  less  variation  of  face  or  manner 
than  any  other  man,  and  there  was  a  reason  for  it.  He 
never  seemed  to  hear  anything  with  reference  to  itself, 
but  solely  with  a  quick  forward  grasping  for  the  conse- 
quences, for  what  must  be  done  next.  The  announcement 
of  a  defeat  or  disaster  did  not  bring  to  him  the  blow  only, 
but  rather  the  consideration  of  the  counterstroke.  When 
the  cannon  ball  struck  Charles  the  Twelfth  in  the  head, 
it  did  not  kill  him  so  quickly  that  his  sword  was  not  half 
drawn  before  he  fell. 

Lincoln's  characteristic  as  a  worker  was  his  persist- 
ency, his  tirelessness ;  and  for  this  he  was  endowed  with 
rare  toughness  of  bodily  and  mental  fibre.  There  was 
not  a  weak  spot  in  his  whole  animal  organism,  and  his 
brain  was  thoroughly  healthy ;  his  White  House  life, 
therefore,  was  a  continual  stepping  from  one  duty  to 
another.  There  was  also  what  to  a  host  of  men  was  a 
provoking  way  of  stepping  over  or  across  unessential 
things,  with  an  instinctive  perception  of  their  lack  of 
value.  Some  things  that  he  stepped  over  seemed  vastly 
important  to  those  who  had  them  in  hand,  but  at  the 
same  time  he  discovered  real  importances  where  others 
failed  to  see  them. 

He  had  vast  capacity  for  work,  and  also  the  exceed- 
ingly valuable  faculty  of  putting  work  upon  others.  He 
could  load,  up  to  their  limit  or  beyond  it,  his  Cabinet 


46  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

officers,  generals,  legislative  supporters,  and  so  forth. 
He  could  hold  them  responsible,  sharply ;  but  he  never 
really  interfered  with  them,  "  bothered  them,"  at  their 
work,  or  found  undue  fault  with  its  execution.  A  false 
idea  obtained  circulation  at  one  time  concerning  his  hard- 
ness, his  exacting  dealings  with  his  immediate  co-workers 
and  subordinates.  Perhaps  this  arose  from  the  numerous 
changes  made  in  his  civil  and  military  appointments. 
He  was  the  very  reverse  of  exacting.  For  illustration, 
I  do  not  know  or  believe  that  he  ever  found  fault  with 
one  of  his  private  secretaries  in  all  the  onerous  and 
delicate  duties  with  which  they  were  charged.  I  know 
that  during  all  the  years  of  my  own  service  he  never 
uttered  a  criticism  or  expressed  a  disapproval,  and  yet 
such  a  mass  of  work  could  not  possibly  have  all  been 
perfect.  He  was  the  most  kindly  and  lenient  of  men, 
even  when,  through  days  and  days  of  gloom  and  over- 
work, he  would  pass  us,  invariably,  without  speaking,  as 
if  we  were  not  there,  until  business  gave  us  the  right  to 
speak. 

Did  he  never  at  any  time  reel  or  stagger  under  his 
burden?  Oh  yes,  once.  He  could  feel  a  hit  or  a  stab 
at  any  time ;  but  the  things  which  hurt  him,  that  made 
him  suffer,  that  were  slowly  killing  him,  as  he  himself 
declared,  did  not  interfere  with  the  perpetual  efficiency 
of  his  work.  If  there  were  hours  when  despondency 
came  and  when  he  doubted  the  result,  the  final  triumph 
of  the  national  arms,  he  did  not  tell  anybody ;  but  there 
was  one  night  when  his  wrestle  with  despair  was  long 
and  terrible. 

In  the  opinion  of  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  concurred  in  by 
other  good  judges,  the  darkest  hour  of  the  Civil  War 
came  in  the  first  week  of  May,  1863.     The  Army  of  the 


LINCOLN'S   VIGIL.  47 

Potomac,  under  General  Hooker,  had  fought  the  bloody 
battle  of  Chancellorsville.  The  record  of  their  dead  and 
wounded  told  how  bravely  they  had  fought;  but  they 
were  defeated,  losing  the  field  of  battle,  and  seventeen 
thousand  men.  The  Confederate  commanders  acknowl- 
edged a  loss  of  only  thirteen  thousand,  but  their  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  was  dreadfully  cut  up.  How 
severe  a  disaster  this  costly  victory  had  been  to  them 
could  not  be  understood  by  the  people  of  the  North. 

The  country  was  weary  of  the  long  war,  with  its  drain- 
ing taxes  of  gold  and  blood.  Discontent  was  everywhere 
raising  its  head,  and  the  opponents  of  the  Lincoln  ad- 
ministration were  savage  in  their  denunciations.  Many 
of  his  severest  critics  were  men  of  unquestionable 
patriotism.  The  mail  desk  in  the  Secretary's  office  at 
the  White  House  was  heaped  with  letters,  as  if  the 
President  could  read  them.  He  knew  their  purport 
well  enough  without  reading.  He  knew  of  the  forever 
vacant  places  in  a  hundred  thousand  households  before 
Chancellorsville.  If  more  than  a  third  of  each  day's 
mail  already  consisted  of  measureless  denunciation;  if 
another  large  part  was  made  up  of  piteous  pleas  for 
peace,  for  a  termination  of  the  long  murder  of  the  Civil 
War,  what  would  it  be  when  tidings  of  this  last  slaugh- 
ter should  go  out  and  send  back  echoes  from  the 
heart-stricken  multitude?  Had  not  enough  been  en- 
dured, and  was  there  not  imminent  peril  that  the  coun- 
try would  refuse  to  endure  any  more?  This  question 
was,  perhaps,  the  darkest  element  in  the  problem  pre- 
sented to  Mr.  Lincoln;  for  the  armies,  east  or  west, 
were  ample  in  force  and  ready  to  fight  again. 

There  were  callers  at  the  White  House  the  day  on 
which  the  news  of  the  defeat  was  brought;   but  they 


48  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

were  not  the  customary  throng.  Members  of  the  Sen- 
ate and  House  came,  with  gloomy  faces ;  the  members  of 
the  Cabinet  came,  to  consult  or  to  condole  with  the 
President.  There  were  army  and  navy  officers,  but  only 
such  as  were  sent  for.  The  house  was  as  if  a  funeral 
were  going  forward,  and  those  who  entered  or  left  it 
trod  softly,  as  people  always  do  around  a  coffin,  for  fear 
they  may  wake  the  dead. 

That  night,  the  last  visitors  in  Lincoln's  room  were 
Stanton  and  Halleck.  They  went  away  together  in 
silence,  at  somewhere  near  nine  o'clock,  and  the  Presi- 
dent was  left  alone.  Not  another  soul  was  on  that  floor 
except  the  one  secretary,  who  was  busy  with  the  mail  in 
his  room  across  the  hall  from  the  President's;  and  the 
doors  of  both  rooms  were  ajar,  for  the  night  was  warm. 
The  silence  was  so  deep  that  the  ticking  of  a  clock 
would  have  been  noticeable;  but  another  sound  came 
that  was  almost  as  regular  and  ceaseless.  It  was  the 
tread  of  the  President's  feet  as  he  strode  slowly  back 
and  forth  across  the  chamber  in  which  so  many  Presi- 
dents of  the  United  States  had  done  their  work.  Was 
he  to  be  the  last  of  the  line?  The  last  President  of  the 
entire  United  States?  At  that  hour  that  very  question 
had  been  asked  of  him  by  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville. 
If  he  had  wavered,  if  he  had  failed  in  faith  or  courage 
or  prompt  decision,  then  the  nation,  and  not  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  would  have  lost  its  great  battle. 

Ten  o'clock  came,  without  a  break  in  the  steady 
march,  excepting  now  and  then  a  pause  in  turning  at 
either  wall. 

There  was  an  unusual  accumulation  of  letters,  for  that 
was  a  desk  hard  worked  with  other  duties  also,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  clear  it  before  leaving  it.     It  seemed 


LINCOLN'S    VIGIL.  49 

as  if  they  contained  a  double  allowance  of  denunciation, 
threats,  ribaldry.  Some  of  them  were  hideous,  some 
were  tear-blistered.  Some  would  have  done  Lincoln 
good  if  he  could  have  read  them;  but,  over  there  in  his 
room,  he  was  reading  the  lesson  of  Chancellorsville  and 
the  future  of  the  Republic.  Eleven  o'clock  came,  and 
then  another  hour  of  that  ceaseless  march  so  accustomed 
the  ear  to  it  that  when,  a  little  after  twelve,  there  was 
a  break  of  several  minutes,  the  sudden  silence  made  one 
put  down  letters  and  listen. 

The  President  may  have  been  at  his  table  writing,  or 
he  may  —  no  man  knows  or  can  guess ;  but  at  the  end  of 
the  minutes,  long  or  short,  the  tramp  began  again.  Two 
o'clock,  and  he  was  walking  yet,  and  when,  a  little  after 
three,  the  secretary's  task  was  done  and  he  slipped  noise- 
lessly out,  he  turned  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  for  a 
moment.  It  was  so  —  the  last  sound  he  heard  as  he 
went  down  was  the  footfall  in  Lincoln's  room. 

That  was  not  all,  however.  The  young  man  had  need 
to  return  early,  and  he  was  there  again  before  eight 
o'clock.  The  President's  room  door  was  open  and  he 
went  in.  There  sat  Mr.  Lincoln  eating  breakfast  alone. 
He  had  not  been  out  of  his  room ;  but  there  was  a  kind 
of  cheery,  hopeful,  morning  light  on  his  face,  instead  of 
the  funereal  battle-cloud  from  Chancellorsville.  He 
had  watched  all  night,  but  a  dawn  had  come,  for  beside 
his  cup  of  coffee  lay  the  written  draft  of  his  instructions 
to  General  Hooker  to  push  forward,  to  fight  again. 
There  was  a  decisive  battle  won  that  night  in  that  long 
vigil  with  disaster  and  despair.  Only  a  few  weeks  later 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  fought  it  over  again  as  desper- 
ately —  and  they  won  it  —  at  Gettysburg. 

Madison,  N.  J. 

E 


INCIDENTS   OF    PRESIDENT   LINCOLN'S   SYM- 
PATHY. 

THE  BOY  WHO  ROBBED  THE  MAILS— THE  EXCHANGE 
OF  PRISONERS— THE  BOY  WHO  WANTED  TO  BE  A 
PAGE  — CLOSE  DISTRICTS. 

BY  THE  HON.  ALEXANDER  H.  EICE, 
Fobmebly  Member  of  Congbess  and  Goveenoe  of  Massachusetts. 

It  happened  that  a  mercantile  firm  in  Boston  had  an 
office  boy  whose  duty,  among  other  things,  was  to  take 
the  mail  to  and  from  the  post  office.  This  boy  was  fresh 
from  the  country  and  was  dazzled  by  the  apparent  wealth 
of  everybody  in  the  city,  without  having  any  very  defi- 
nite ideas  of  how  competency  is  attained;  and  seeing  his 
opportunity  to  get  money  from  the  letters  entrusted  to 
him,  he  yielded  to  the  temptation  and  fell  into  the  habit 
of  thus  stealing  money,  was  detected,  convicted  and  im- 
prisoned ;  but  the  employers  of  the  boy  and  the  jury  that 
convicted  him  felt  kindly  disposed,  and  joined  with  the 
boy's  father,  after  some  months  had  elapsed,  in  an  effort 
to  obtain  the  boy's  pardon.  As  his  offence  was  against 
the  National  Government,  the  application  must,  of  course, 
be  made  to  the  President.  For  that  purpose  the  father 
appeared  in  Washington  equipped  with  a  petition  for 
the  pardon   of  his  son  which  was  numerously  signed 

50 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  SYMPATHY.  51 

by  the  jurors  and  many  citizens  of  Massachusetts,  and 
asked  me  to  accompany  him  to  the  White  House,  which 
I  did,  and  introduced  him  to  the  President,  to  whom 
also  I  handed  the  petition.  Mr.  Lincoln  put  on  his 
spectacles,  threw  himself  back  in  his  chair  and  stretched 
his  long  legs  to  their  utmost  extent,  and  thus  read  the 
document.  When  finished,  he  turned  to  me  and  asked 
if  I  met  a  man  on  the  stairs  going  down  as  I  came  up, 
and  I  said  that  I  did.  "Well,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "he 
was  the  last  man  in  this  room  before  you  came  and  his 
errand  was  to  get  a  man  pardoned  out  of  the  peniten- 
tiary, and  now  you  come  to  get  a  boy  out  of  jail.  I  am 
bothered  to  death,"  said  he,  "about  these  pardon  cases; 
but  I  am  a  little  encouraged  by  your  visit.  They  are 
after  me  on  the  men,  but  appear  to  be  roping  you  in  on 
the  boys.  What  shall  we  do?  The  trouble  appears  to 
come  from  the  courts.  Let's  abolish  the  courts,  and  I 
think  that  will  end  the  difficulty.  And  it  seems  as  if 
the  courts  ought  to  be  abolished,  anyway;  for  they 
appear  to  pick  out  the  very  best  men  in  the  community 
and  send  them  to  the  penitentiary,  and  now  they  are 
after  the  same  kind  of  boys.  According  to  that  man's 
testimony  who  was  just  in  here,  there  are  few  men  so 
upright  as  his  client;  and  I  don't  know  much  about  boys 
in  Massachusetts,  but  according  to  this  petition  there 
are  not  many  such  boys  as  this  one  outside  the  Sunday- 
schools  in  other  parts  of  the  country."  Then  assuming 
more  gravity  he  asked  the  father  what  he  intended  to  do 
with  the  boy  if  released;  and  the  reply  was  that  the  boy 
had  had  quite  enough  of  the  city  and  would  be  content 
to  go  upon  the  farm  where  he  would  hereafter  stay.  The 
President  finally  said  that  if  a  majority  of  the  Members 
of  the  Massachusetts  delegation  in  Congress  would  sign 


52  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  petition,  he  would  then  pardon  the  boy.     This  was 
done,  and  I  never  heard  of  the  boy  afterward. 

After  the  Congressional  election,  in  1862,  my  seat  in 
Congress  was  contested  by  an  estimable  old  gentleman 
who  differed  from  his  constituents,  and  with  the  evi- 
dence in  the  case,  by  supposing  that  he  and  not  I  was 
elected  to  the  Congress.  The  matter  of  contest  was 
reported  upon  by  the  Committee  on  Elections  in  my 
favor,  and  their  report  was  affirmed  by  the  House.  At 
the  next  following  election  my  old  friend  and  myself 
were  again  opposed  to  each  other  as  candidates,  and  I 
led  him  at  the  polls  nearly  4000  votes ;  to  be  more  exact, 
by  3600 +  .  It  is  remarkable  how  fully  apprised  of  the 
trend  of  politics  in  different  localities  Mr.  Lincoln  kept 
himself.  With  all  his  labors  and  anxieties  he  kept  his 
finger  always  upon  the  public  pulse  and  appeared  to 
know  the  "close  districts"  and  the  "certain"  ones 
throughout  the  country.  On  my  return  to  Washington, 
after  that  election,  I  chanced  one  day  to  pass  the  White 
House  just  as  the  President  was  coming  out,  and  he 
hailed  me,  saying :  "  Well,  your  district  is  a  good  deal 
like  a  jug,  after  all  —  the  handle  is  all  on  one  side." 
He  then  proceeded  to  tell  me  that  he  was  at  the  War 
Department  when  a  dispatch  came  in  saying  that  Rice 
was  re-elected  by  more  than  three  thousand  plurality, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to  those  present,  That  can't  be,  for 
he  has  one  of  the  closest  districts  in  the  country.  While 
they  were  commenting  upon  the  matter  another  dispatch 
from  another  source  came  saying,  Rice  elected  by  nearly 
four  thousand  plurality.  Well,  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  if 
that  is  the  way  in  which  the  doubtful  districts  are  com- 
ing in  he  guessed  he  would  not  stop  to  hear  from  the 
certain  ones. 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  SYMPATHY.  53 

There  is  a  certain  recognized  order  of  precedence  of 
admission  when  calling  upon  the  President  of  the  United 
States;  the  Vice-President  will  be  first  admitted,  if 
present,  then  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  Cabi- 
net Ministers,  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Senators, 
members  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  and  so  on. 
It  happened  at  one  time  that  the  late  Senator  Henry 
Wilson  and  myself  called  to  see  President  Lincoln  on  a 
joint  errand;  and  for  that  reason,  I,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  could  be  admitted  with 
the  Senator.  After  we  had  waited  some  little  time  in 
the  anteroom,  we  were  at  length  admitted;  and  as  the 
door  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  room  opened,  a  small  boy,  perhaps 
twelve  years  old,  slipped  into  the  room  between  the 
Senator  and  myself.  After  the  customary  salutations 
the  President  appeared  to  be  absorbed  in  the  lad,  and 
said,  "And  who  is  the  little  boy?"  an  inquiry  which 
neither  the  Senator  nor  myself  could  answer.  The  lad, 
however,  immediately  replied  that  he  was  a  good  boy 
who  had  come  to  Washington  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  a 
situation  as  page  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  The 
President  began  to  say  to  the  boy  that  he  must  go  to 
Captain  Goodnow,  the  head  doorkeeper  of  the  House,  as 
he  himself  had  nothing  to  do  with  such  an  appointment; 
upon  which,  the  lad  insisted  that  he  was  a  good  boy,  and 
pulled  from  his  pockets  a  recommendation  from  the 
supervisors  of  his  town,  the  minister  of  the  parish  and 
others,  stating  also  that  his  mother  was  a  widow  and 
pleading  the  necessities  of  the  family.  The  President 
called  the  boy  nearer  to  him,  took  his  recommendation 
and  wrote  upon  the  back  of  it  as  follows : 

"  If  Captain  Goodnow  can  give  this  good  little  boy  a  place  he 
will  oblige  A.  Lincoln." 


54  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

This  he  passed  to  the  boy,  who  seemed  visibly  to  grow 
in  height  as  he  read  it,  and  strode  toward  the  door  buoyed 
with  hope.  The  incident  was  tender,  dramatic  and  pa- 
thetic. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  War,  when  President  Lincoln 
called  for  seventy-five  thousand  troops,  a  certain  student 
in  a  theological  school  in  Massachusetts  at  once  volun- 
teered and  went  to  the  front.  He  was  a  private,  but  his 
courage  and  patriotism  soon  won  promotion  for  him;  and 
he  was  shockingly  wounded  and  suffered  long  in  hospi- 
tal, and  was  finally  sent  home  to  recuperate.  There  was 
a  standing  regulation  in  the  army  that  no  communication 
should  be  made  between  the  opposing  forces,  yet  both 
sides  disregarded  it;  and  even  the  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington depended  not  a  little  upon  the  information  gath- 
ered from  Southern  newspapers  obtained  through  these 
exchanges  between  soldiers  of  the  opposing  armies. 
After  Captain  Burrage  (for  that  was  his  name)  had  suffi- 
ciently recovered  from  his  wounds,  he  again  joined  his 
regiment  at  the  front  just  as  orders  had  been  issued  to 
enforce  the  prohibition  of  all  exchange  of  newspapers. 
Of  this  special  order  he  was  ignorant,  and  seeing  the 
rebels  in  front  signalling  for  an  exchange  he  went  for- 
ward having  only  one  newspaper  while  they  had  two; 
he  took  the  two  and  gave  in  exchange  the  one  he  had 
and  promised  to  bring  another  later  in  the  day.  When 
he  again  went  to  the  front  to  deliver  the  promised  paper 
the  rebels  perfidiously  dragged  him  within  their  lines 
and  carried  him  oft"  to  Richmond.  For  disobedience  of 
orders  the  Washington  authorities  took  away  his  com- 
mission and  reduced  him  to  the  ranks,  while  the  rebels 
incarcerated  him  and  gave  him  only  prison  fare  and 
privileges.     This  state  of  things  greatly  told  against  his 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  SYMPATHY.  55 

health  and  caused  his  wounds  to  break  out  afresh  and 
otherwise  incommoded  him.  While  I  was  at  home  dur- 
ing a  recess  of  Congress,  Captain  Burrage's  friend  stated 
these  facts  to  me  and  begged  my  interposition  to  have 
him  exchanged.  On  my  return  to  Washington  I  sought 
the  President  and  began  to  state  the  facts  to  him,  when 
he  interrupted  me  by  saying  that  it  was  all  he  could  do 
and  more  to  hear  cases  in  classes,  and  that  he  really 
could  not  hear  individual  cases  however  meritorious.  I 
saw  the  difficulty  and  so  told  him,  but  at  the  same  time 
said,  that  I  felt  persuaded  that  if  he  could  hear  that 
case  he  would  esteem  it  exceptional  and  especially  worthy 
of  his  attention,  whereupon  he  asked  me  to  proceed  with 
the  statement  giving  in  detail  facts  not  necessary  here 
to  recite.  When  I  had  finished  my  story,  he  said:  "I 
wish  you  would  go  over  to  the  War  Department  and 
state  this  case  to  General  Wadsworth  [who  had  charge 
of  the  exchange  of  prisoners]  and  say  to  him  from  me 
that  if  he  can  effect  the  exchange  of  Captain  Burrage 
without  injustice  to  other  men  of  his  rank,  I  wish  him 
to  do  so."  I  then  reminded  the  President  that  when 
captured  Burrage  was  a  captain  and  held  as  such  by  the 
rebels,  but  that  he  had  since  been  reduced  to  the  ranks, 
and  we  could  only  give  a  private  soldier  in  exchange  for 
him  while  the  rebels  would  probably  demand  a  captain. 
To  this  the  President  replied  that  if  General  Wadsworth 
should  raise  that  point  I  might  tell  him  that  if  he  (Wads- 
worth) could  take  care  of  the  exchange  part  he  guessed 
he  (the  President)  could  take  care  of  the  rank  part.  I 
fulfilled  my  errand  to  General  Wadsworth,  and  he  said 
he  could  easily  effect  the  exchanges  provided  he  could  be 
allowed  to  give  a  captain  for  Burrage.  I  then  told  him 
what  Mr.  Lincoln  had  said  about  the  "rank  part,"  and 


56  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

* 

that  I  would  immediately  return  to  the  White  House  and 
inform  Mr.  Lincoln  of  what  he  had  said.  I  did  so,  and 
Burrage  was  in  Washington  in  less  than  a  fortnight  after- 
ward. This  story  will  illustrate  the  patience  and  sym- 
pathy which  Mr.  Lincoln  gave  to  every  interest  of  the 
soldiers,  whether  in  the  service  or  in  captivity. 


A  DISTINGUISHED  EDITOK'S  RECOLLECTIONS. 

A  WHISKY  BILL  — LINCOLN  AS  AN  EDITORIAL  WRITER. 

BY  MURAT  HAL8TEAD, 
Editor  of  "The  Brooklyn  Union." 

I  became  acquainted  with  President  Lincoln  through 
an  old  and  somewhat  peculiar  farmer,  named  "Sol" 
Meredith.  He  introduced  me  to  the  President  on  one 
occasion  when  he  was  in  the  West.  Old  "  Sol "  Meredith 
during  the  War  was  the  commander  of  the  Iron  Brigade 
at  Gettysburg.  In  the  West  he  had  been  a  farmer,  rais- 
ing all  kinds  of  agricultural  products,  making  a  specialty 
of  breeding  horses,  mules  and  other  live  stock. 

As  a  journalist,  in  a  general  way,  I  supported  Mr. 
Lincoln ;  at  the  same  time  I  was  occasionally  inclined  to 
agree  with  those  who  were  criticising  him,  but,  later  on, 
it  became  clear  to  me  that  he  seemed  to  be  doing  pretty 
well.  There  was  a  time  when  nearly  everybody  criti- 
cised him,  the  Republicans  the  worst  of  all. 

I  remember  particularly  a  speech  he  made  in  Cincin- 
nati about  1858,  from  the  balcony  of  the  building  where 
the  post  office  now  stands.  I  went  up  there  for  the  pur- 
pose of  hearing  a  part  of  the  speech,  and  to  get  an  im- 
pression of  the  man;  but  I  was  so  much  interested  that 
I  remained  throughout  the  whole  address.  The  speech 
was  of  no  particular  importance  so  far  as  its  relation  to 

57 


58  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

public  affairs  was  concerned,  but  in  one  particular  it  was 
quite  pathetic.  Lincoln,  it  will  be  remembered,  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  and  in  this  speech  he  referred  to  his 
native  State,  remarking  that  he  had  never  before  made 
an  address  so  near  his  early  home.  And  it  is  a  singular 
fact  that  in  all  his  public  career  he  never  appeared  as  a 
public  speaker  in  Kentucky. 

When  I  was  in  Washington  I  used  to  see  him  looking 
through  a  spyglass  out  of  a  window  in  the  White  House 
at  the  Confederate  flag  which  was  kept  flying  from  the 
hotel  at  Alexandria,  where  young  Ellsworth  was  killed 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  War.  He  seemed  to  study  this 
flag  through  his  spyglass ;  it  seemed  to  have  for  him  a 
kind  of  baneful  fascination. 

Once  I  saw  him  in  the  White  House  yard  when  a  Wis- 
consin regiment  was  marching  along.  The  special  thing 
that  attracted  my  attention  was  that,  as  they  were  pass- 
ing along,  he  shed  tears. 

When  he  was  in  Cincinnati,  and  made  the  speech  to 
which  I  referred  a  moment  ago,  some  of  the  younger 
Republicans  called  at  his  rooms  at  the  Burnett  House. 
They  sent  downstairs  for  a  box  of  cigars  and  a  bottle  of 
whisky.  In  some  way  they  neglected  the  matter,  and 
the  whisky  was  charged  to  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  hotel  bill. 
This  displeased  him  very  much.  There  was  considerable 
correspondence  between  him  and  the  young  Republicans 
about  the  matter.  I  saw  some  of  his  letters,  and  I  can 
only  say  that  I  have  a  general  impression  that  they  were 
well  written  and  strictly  to  the  point.  The  fact  was 
that  he  did  not  know  anything  about  the  liquor,  and  the 
parties  referred  to  had  had  it  all  to  themselves.  When 
Lincoln  became  President,  the  recollection  of  this  inci- 
dent was  anything  but  pleasant  to  the  Republican  gen- 


A  DISTINGUISHED  EDITOR'S  RECOLLECTIONS.       59 

tlemen  who  were  connected  with  it.  They  were  good 
enough  fellows  personally,  but,  as  members  of  the  reign- 
ing political  party,  knowing  that  the  experience  had  been 
exceedingly  unpleasant  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  they  doubtless 
many  a  time  wished  that  the  incident  had  never  occurred, 
and  hoped  for  the  time  when  other  and  more  important 
matters  would  crowd  it  out  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  recollection. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  my  correspondent  during  the 
Springfield  Convention  in  1860  was  Henry  Villard,  after- 
ward the  wealthy  railroad  man.  I  employed  him  for 
ten  years,  and  he  was  a  very  good  newspaper  man.  His 
letters  from  Springfield  were  exceptionally  good  and 
indicated  pretty  plainly  Mr.  Lincoln's  views.  He  sent 
me  a  manuscript  editorial  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  written 
for  the  Springfield  Journal  after  he  was  elected  Presi- 
dent. It  had  been  strongly  contended  by  some  that 
Lincoln  should  take  into  his  Cabinet  some  men  who 
were  not  Republicans.  This  letter  was  written  in  Lin- 
coln's quaint  style,  and,  in  a  hypothetical  way,  showed 
that  he  could  only  take  for  his  Cabinet  advisers  those 
who  affiliated  with  the  Republican  Party. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


HOW  LINCOLN  WAS  WAKNED   OF  THE   BAL- 
TIMORE ASSASSINATION  PLOT. 

HOW  HE  ENTERED   WASHINGTON. 
BY  FREDERICK  W.  SEWARD, 


AlTTHOB  OF  THE   "  LtFE  OF  WM.   H.   SEWARD." 

The  most  important  and  interesting  recollection  I  have 
of  President  Lincoln  is  in  regard  to  the  warning  I  carried 
to  him  of  the  plot  to  assassinate  him  in  Baltimore.  The 
story  of  this  event  is  reproduced  from  my  Life  of  Secre- 
tary Seward. 

I  was  in  the  gallery  of  the  Senate  Chamber  shortly 
after  noon  one  Thursday,  in  February,  1861,  when  one 
of  the  pages  touched  my  elbow,  and  told  me  that  Sena- 
tor Seward  wished  to  see  me  immediately.  Going  down, 
I  met  him  in  the  lobby.  He  handed  me  a  letter  he  had 
just  written  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  enclosing  a  note  from  Gen- 
eral Scott.     He  said: 

"  Whether  this  story  is  well  founded  or  not,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln ought  to  know  of  it  at  once.  But  I  know  of  no 
reason  to  doubt  it.  General  Scott  is  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  the  danger  is  real.  Colonel  Stone  has  facili- 
ties for  knowing,  and  is  not  apt  to  exaggerate.  I  want 
you  to  go  by  the  first  train.  Find  Mr.  Lincoln  wherever 
he  is.  Let  no  one  else  know  your  errand.  I  have  writ- 
ten him  that  I  think  he  should  change  his  arrangements, 

60 


THE  BALTIMORE  ASSASSINATION.  61 

and  pass  through  Baltimore  at  a  different  hour.  I  know 
it  may  occasion  some  embarrassment,  and,  perhaps,  some 
ill-natured  talk.  Nevertheless,  I  would  strongly  advise 
him  to  do  it." 

The  train,  a  tedious  one,  brought  me  into  Philadelphia 
about  ten  o'clock  at  night.  I  had  learned  from  the  news- 
papers and  the  conversation  of  my  fellow-passengers  that 
the  party  of  the  President-elect  would  spend  the  night 
at  the  Continental  Hotel,  where  he  would  be  sere- 
naded. 

Arriving  at  the  hotel  I  found  Chestnut  Street  crowded 
with  people,  gay  with  lights,  and  echoing  with  music  and 
hurrahs.  Within,  the  halls  and  stairways  were  packed, 
and  the  brilliantly  lighted  parlors  were  filled  with  ladies 
and  gentlemen  who  had  come  to  "pay  their  respects." 
A  buzz  of  animated  conversation  pervaded  the  throng, 
and,  in  its  centre,  presentations  to  the  President-elect 
appeared  to  be  going  on.  Clearly,  this  was  no  time  for 
the  delivery  of  a  confidential  message.  I  turned  into  a 
room  near  the  head  of  the  stairway,  which  had  been 
pointed  out  as  that  of  Mr.  Robert  Lincoln.  He  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  group  of  young  friends.  On  my  introduc- 
ing myself,  he  met  and  greeted  me  with  courteous 
warmth,  and  then  called  to  Col.  Ward  H.  Lamon,  who 
was  passing,  and  introduced  us  to  each  other.  Colonel 
Lamon,  taking  me  by  the  arm,  proposed  at  once  to  go 
back  into  the  parlor  to  present  me  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  On 
my  telling  him  that  I  wanted  my  interview  to  be  as  pri- 
vate and  to  attract  as  little  attention  as  possible,  the 
Colonel  laughed  and  said: 

"  Then  I  think  I  had  better  take  you  to  his  bedroom. 
If  you  don't  mind  waiting  there,  you'll  be  sure  to  meet 
him,  for  he  has  got  to  go  there  some  time  to-night ;  and 


62  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

it  is  the  only  place  I  know  of  where  he  will  be  likely  to 
be  alone." 

This  was  the  very  opportunity  I  desired.  Thanking 
the  Colonel,  I  sat  and  waited  for  an  hour  or  more  in  the 
quiet  room  that  was  in  such  contrast  with  the  bustle  out- 
side. Presently  Colonel  Lamon  called  me,  and  we  met 
Mr.  Lincoln,  who  was  coming  down  the  hall.  I  had 
never  before  seen  him ;  but  the  campaign  portraits  had 
made  his  face  quite  familiar.  I  could  not  but  notice  how 
accurately  they  had  copied  his  features,  and  how  totally 
they  had  omitted  his  careworn  look,  and  his  pleasant, 
kindly  smile.  After  a  few  words  of  friendly  greeting, 
with  inquiries  about  my  father  and  matters  in  Washing- 
ton, he  sat  down  by  the  table  under  the  gaslight  to 
peruse  the  letter  I  had  brought.  Although  its  contents 
were  of  a  somewhat  startling  nature,  he  made  no  excla- 
mation, and  I  saw  no  sign  of  surprise  in  his  face.  After 
reading  it  carefully  through,  he  again  held  it  to  the  light 
and  deliberately  read  it  through  a  second  time.  Then, 
after  musing  a  moment,  he  looked  up  and  asked : 

"  Did  you  hear  anything  about  the  way  this  informa- 
tion was  obtained  ?  Do  you  know  anything  about  how 
they  got  it  ?  » 

No ;  I  had  known  nothing  in  regard  to  it  till  that  morn- 
ing, when  called  down  by  my  father  from  the  Senate 
gallery. 

"  Your  father  and  General  Scott  do  not  say  who  they 
think  are  concerned  in  it.     Do  you  think  they  know  ?  " 

On  that  point,  too,  I  could  give  no  additional  informa- 
tion, further  than  my  impression  that  my  father's  knowl- 
edge of  it  was  limited  to  what  had  been  communicated 
to  him  by  Colonel  Stone,  in  whose  statements  he  had 
implicit  confidence. 


THE  BALTIMORE  ASSASSINATION.  63 

"  Did  you  hear  any  names  mentioned  ?  Did  you,  for 
instance,  ever  hear  anything  said  about  such  a  name  as 
Pinkerton  ?  " 

No ;  I  had  heard  no  such  name  in  connection  with  the 
matter  —  no  name  at  all,  in  fact,  except  those  of  General 
Scott  and  Colonel  Stone. 

He  thought  a  moment,  and  then  said : 

"  I  may  as  well  tell  you  why  I  ask.  There  were  stories 
or  rumors  some  time  ago,  before  I  left  home,  about  peo- 
ple who  were  intending  to  do  me  a  mischief.  I  never 
attached  much  importance  to  them  —  never  wanted  to 
believe  any  such  thing.  So  I  never  would  do  anything 
about  them  in  the  way  of  taking  precautions  and  the 
like.  Some  of  my  friends,  though,  thought  differently 
—  Judd  and  others;  and  without  my  knowledge  they 
employed  a  detective  to  look  into  the  matter.  It  seems 
he  has  occasionally  reported  what  he  found;  and  only 
to-day,  since  we  arrived  at  this  house,  he  brought  this 
story,  or  something  similar  to  it,  about  an  attempt  on 
my  life  in  the  confusion  and  hurly-burly  of  the  reception 
at  Baltimore.'' 

"  Surely,  Mr.  Lincoln,"  said  I,  "  that  is  a  strange  cor- 
roboration of  the  news  I  bring  you." 

He  smiled  and  shook  his  head. 

"That  is  exactly  why  I  was  asking  you  about  the 
names.  If  different  persons,  not  knowing  of  each  other's 
work,  have  been  pursuing  separate  clues  that  led  to  the 
same  result,  why,  then  it  shows  there  may  be  something 
in  it ;  but  if  this  is  only  one  story,  filtered  through  two 
channels,  and  reaching  me  in  two  ways,  then  that  doesn't 
make  it  any  stronger.     Don't  you  see  ?  " 

The  logic  was  unanswerable ;  but  I  asserted  my  strong 
belief  that  the  two  investigations  had  been   conducted 


64  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

independently  of  each,  other,  and  nrged  that  there  was 
enough  of  probability  to  make  it  prudent  to  adopt  the 
suggestion,  and  make  the  slight  change  in  hour  and  train 
which  would  avoid  all  risk. 

After  a  little  further  discussion  of  the  subject  Mr. 
Lincoln  rose  and  said :  "  Well,  we  haven't  got  to  decide 
it  to-night  anyway,  and  I  see  it  is  getting  late."  Then, 
noticing  that  I  looked  disappointed  at  his  reluctance  to 
regard  the  warning,  he  said,  kindly :  "  You  need  not 
think  I  will  not  consider  it  well.  I  shall  think  it  over 
carefully,  and  try  to  decide  it  right ;  and  I  will  let  you 
know  in  the  morning." 

At  the  breakfast  table  the  next  day  the  papers  had  the 
report  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  remarks  on  raising  the  flag  at 
Independence  Hall  early  that  morning.  One  sentence  in 
them  had  a  deeper  meaning  than  his  auditors  guessed. 
Adverting  to  the  principle  embodied  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  he  said : 

"If  this  country  cannot  be  saved  without  giving  up  that  prin- 
ciple, I  was  about  to  say,  I  would  rather  be  assassinated  on  the 
spot  than  surrender  it." 

Shortly  after  breakfast  Colonel  Lamon  met  me  in  the 
hall,  and,  taking  me  aside,  said  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
concluded  to  do  as  he  had  been  advised.  He  would 
change  his  plan  so  as  to  pass  through  Baltimore  at  a 
different  hour  from  that  announced.  I  hastened  to  the 
telegraph  ofnce  and  sent  to  my  father  a  word,  previously 
agreed  upon,  on  receiving  which  he  would  understand 
that  his  advice  had  been  taken. 

Accordingly  he  was  at  the  railroad  station  in  Wash- 
ington on  Saturday  morning,  with  E.  B.  Washburne,  of 
Illinois,  when   Mr.    Lincoln   and   Colonel   Lamon,   very 


THE  BALTIMORE  ASSASSINATION.  65 

much  to  the  surprise  of  all  the   bystanders,  got  out  of 
the  night  train  from  Philadelphia. 
Writing  home  that  day,  Seward  said : 

"  February  23d. 

"I  was  advised  on  Thursday  morning  of  a  plot  in  Baltimore  to 
assassinate  the  President-elect  on  his  expected  arrival  there  to-day. 
I  sent  Fred  to  apprise  him  of  it.  After  Fred  had  done  this,  and 
induced  a  change  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  program,  he  went  to  New  York 
to  meet  Anna  and  bring  her  here  this  evening. 

"  The  President-elect  arrived  incog,  at  six  this  morning.  I  met 
him  at  the  depot ;  and  after  breakfast  introduced  him  to  the  Presi- 
dent and  Cabinet,  and  then  I  proceeded  with  him  to  call  on  General 
Scott.  After  that  we  rode  an  hour.  I  met  him  again  at  half-past 
one.  He  is  very  cordial  and  kind  toward  me  —  simple,  natural 
and  agreeable." 

New  York  City. 


F 


THE  CAKEER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

HIS  CHARACTER  AS  A  MAN— HIS  PLACE  IN  HISTORY. 

BY  THE  HON.  GEORGE  S.  BOUTWELL, 

Ex-Secbetaey  of  the  Tbeasuey. 

There  are  two  aspects  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln  may  be 
considered  —  his  character  as  a  man  and  his  place  as  a 
historical  personage. 

In  the  thirty  years  since  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
more  has  been  written  and  spoken  of  him  and  of  his 
doings  than  was  ever  written  and  spoken  of  any  other 
American  in  the  same  period  of  time. 

Of  Mr.  Lincoln's  predecessors,  "Washington  and  Frank- 
lin occupy  the  largest  space  in  the  historical  and  bio- 
graphical literature  of  the  country ;  but  in  these  thirty 
years  the  name,  career  and  fame  of  Mr.  Lincoln  have 
given  occasion  for  a  volume  of  such  writings  quite  equal 
in  magnitude  to  all  that  has  been  written  of  either 
Washington  or  Franklin  during  the  century  which  is 
now  closing. 

This  peculiarity  in  the  posthumous  fame  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln is  realized  most  distinctly  when  we  consider  that 
his  official  life  was  embraced  in  the  brief  period  of  six 
years,  while  the  distinguished  services  of  Washington 
and  the  public  career  of  Franklin  alike  covered  the 
larger  part  of  a  half  century. 

66 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  67 

The  writers  of  books  and  essays  have  not  created  the 
popular  interest  in  whatever  relates  to  Mr.  Lincoln, 
although  these  writings  may  have  extended  the  interest 
and  intensified  its  force.  First  of  all,  there  was  in  the 
life  and  conversation  of  Mr.  Lincoln  a  line  of  action 
and  thought  which  attracted  the  "  plain  people,"  as  the 
masses  were  characterized  by  him ;  and,  therefore,  what- 
ever relates  to  Mr.  Lincoln  appeals  to  those  masses,  who, 
in  America,  constitute  the  main  body  of  readers.  In 
his  life  there  was  much  of  pathetic  interest,  and  his  tragic 
death  raised  him  to  the  rank  of  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of 
liberty. 

Thus  in  his  life  and  in  his  death,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an 
attractive  personality;  but  his  chief  title  to  enduring 
fame  must  rest  upon  his  service,  his  pre-eminent  ser- 
vice, in  the  causes  of  liberty  and  the  Union.  It  is  not 
enough  to  say  that  in  his  office  as  President  the  oppor- 
tunity came  to  him  to  save  the  Union  and  to  emanci- 
pate millions  from  slavery.  Another  man  as  President 
might  have  done  as  much;  but  Mr.  Lincoln  so  con- 
ducted affairs  during  the  period  of  the  War  that  no 
stain  rests  upon  him,  so  conducted  affairs  that  the 
nation  is  not  called  upon  to  make  explanations,  nor  to 
invent  apologies. 

In  the  methods  and  agencies  for  the  prosecution  of  the 
War,  in  the  command  of  the  armies,  in  the  conduct  of 
our  foreign  relations,  in  the  various  projects  for  negotia- 
tions with  the  rebel  authorities,  in  emancipation,  and  in 
the  measures  leading  up  to  emancipation,  he  was  the 
subject  of  harsh  criticisms,  always  by  Democrats,  and 
not  infrequently,  and  often  in  public,  by  Republicans, 
and  by  leading  Republicans. 

In  the  year  1864  a  hostile  manifesto  was  issued   by 


68  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

discontented  Bepublicans,  whose  power,  however,  was  ex- 
hausted by  the  doings  of  the  Convention  which  assem- 
bled at  Cleveland  and  nominated  Fremont  and  Cochrane 
for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 
With  that  nomination  the  power  of  the  dissentients 
came  to  an  end,  and  without  much  delay  the  candidates 
retired  from  the  field. 

Now  after  a  third  of  a  century,  and  when  there  is  a 
universal  acclaim  of  praise,  it  is  difficult  for  the  survivors 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  contemporaries,  and  it  may  be  impossible 
for  the  newer  generations,  to  realize  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  the  subject  of  vigorous,  unreasoning  criti- 
cism from  his  political  associates,  and  of  degrading  per- 
sonal assaults  from  his  political  opponents. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  indifferent  to  those  criticisms  and 
assaults :  but  they  wrought  no  change  in  his  plans  or 
general  policy,  nor  did  they  provoke  in  him  any  disposi- 
tion to  retaliate  upon  his  critics  and  opponents.  Nor  did 
he  reply  to  the  attacks  made  upon  his  policy  except  when 
those  attacks  imperilled  the  fortunes  of  the  country. 

Of  this  character  was  his  letter  in  regard  to  the  arrest 
of  Vallandigham,  and  his  letter  in  which  he  announced 
his  purpose  to  save  the  Union  either  with  or  without 
slavery.  These  attacks  were  not,  at  his  instance,  the 
subjects  of  conversation,  and  they  produced  no  apparent 
change  in  his  countenance,  or  methods,  or  facility  for 
business.  There  was,  however,  at  all  times,  when  not 
engaged  in  conversation,  a  sadness  of  expression  in  Mr. 
Lincoln's  countenance  which  was  truly  pathetic.  This 
expression  was  not  induced,  however,  by  the  War  and 
the  responsibilities  of  office. 

It  was  observed  at  Springfield,  in  June,  1860,  when 
the  President  of  the  Chicago  Convention  made  the  for- 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  69 

mal  announcement  to  Mr.  Lincoln  of  his  nomination  for 
the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  He  replied 
in  a  brief,  formal,  solemn  speech.  The  expression  of 
his  countenance  was  that  which  it  wore,  when  at  rest, 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

On  the  first  day  of  August,  1862,  there  was  a  meeting 
at  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol,  ostensibly  in  commemo- 
ration of  emancipation  in  the  British  West  Indies.  At 
that  meeting  Mr.  Lincoln  made  a  speech,  and  it  was  de- 
voted, chiefly,  to  a  vindication  of  the  administration  from 
the  charge  that  there  had  been  neglect  in  the  support 
given  to  McClellan  either  in  men  or  in  the  supplies  of 
war. 

Again,  in  the  early  part  of  May,  1864,  I  had  occasion 
to  observe  the  evidence  of  the  fact  that  he  was  not  in- 
different to  the  criticisms  that  had  been  made  upon  him, 
and  especially  was  he  not  indifferent  to  the  criticisms 
touching  his  treatment  of  McClellan,  who,  at  a  time,  cov- 
ering the  year  1861  and  the  largest  part  of  the  year  1862, 
was  the  idol  of  the  army  and  the  hope  of  the  country. 

When  General  Grant  was  about  to  move  against  Lee, 
the  President  wrote  a  letter  to  Grant,  in  which  he  said, 
among  other  things,  that  he  neither  knew  nor  wished  to 
know  his  plan  of  operations ;  but  he  tendered  his  good 
wishes  and  promised  every  aid  which  the  Government 
could  furnish. 

In  reply,  General  Grant  did  not  unfold  his  plan,  but 
in  the  fullest  manner  he  expressed  his  satisfaction  with 
the  support  that  he  had  received,  and  he  then  said  in 
substance,  "  If  the  results  shall  be  less  favorable  than  I 
hope  and  the  Government  expects,  the  fault  will  not  be 
the  fault  of  the  administration." 

Soon  after  the  receipt  of  General  Grant's  letter,  at  an 


70  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

interview  with.  Mr.  Lincoln,  lie  took  the  two  letters  from 
a  pigeonhole  over  his  table  and  read  them  to  me,  and 
with  special  interest,  as  I  thought,  from  the  fact  that 
General  Grant's  conduct  was  in  contrast  with  the  conduct 
of  General  McClellan  in  similar  circumstances.  , 

For  several  months  Mr.  Lincoln  was  subject  to  the  as- 
saults of  the  friends  and  of  the  enemies  of  General  Mc- 
Clellan. For  several  months  he  retained  McClellan  in 
command  and  after  he  had  reached  the  conclusion  that 
his  retirement  was  inevitable.  Such  was  his  opinion  in 
July,  1862,  certainly  as  soon  as  the  Peninsula  campaign 
was  ended ;  and  it  is  probable  that  his  opinion  became 
unalterable  upon  the  receipt  of  McClellan's  letter  from 
Harrison's  Landing,  dated  July  7th,  1862. 

In  that  letter  McClellan  said : 

' '  The  responsibility  of  determining,  declaring  and  supporting 
such  civil  and  military  policy,  and  of  directing  the  whole  course 
of  national  affairs  in  regard  to  the  Rebellion,  must  now  be  assumed 
and  exercised  by  you,  or  our  cause  will  be  lost." 

To  this  advice  he  added  the  declaration  that  "  neither 
confiscation  of  property,  political  execution  of  persons, 
territorial  organization  of  States,  nor  forcible  abolition  of 
slavery,  should  be  contemplated  for  a  moment." 

In  furtherance  of  these  views  McClellan  said : 

"You  will  require  a  commander-in-chief  of  the  Army,  one  who 
possesses  your  confidence,  understands  your  views,  and  who  is 
competent  to  execute  your  orders.  ...  I  do  not  ask  that  place 
for  myself.  I  am  willing  to  serve  you  in  such  position  as  you  may 
assign  me,  and  I  will  do  so  as  faithfully  as  ever  subordinate  served 
superior." 

The  suggestions  and  recommendations  of  this  letter 
were  such  that  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  fail  to  treat  it  as  a 


THE  CAREER   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  71 

proposition  for  the  establishment  of  a  dictatorship,  with 
McClellan  at  the  head  of  the  army. 

McClellan  wrote  under  the  impression  that  all  other 
means  of  saving  the  Union  would  prove  ineffectual. 
That  he  contemplated  a  permanent  change  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Government  is  in  a  high  degree  improbable. 
Assuming  honesty  of  purpose,  it  showed  the  weakness  of 
the  man.  His  standing  with  Mr.  Lincoln  was  under- 
mined fatally  by  that  letter. 

Upon  the  reorganization  of  the  army,  following  Pope's 
defeat,  the  command  was  given  to  McClellan,  but  reluc- 
tantly, and  in  the  presence  of  many  grave  doubts. 

McClellan  was  still  the  idol  of  the  army,  and  the  situa- 
tion was  so  serious  that  the  wishes  of  the  army  could 
not  be  disregarded. 

The  spell  with  which  the  army  was  bound  to  McClellan 
was  broken  by  the  battle  of  Antietam.  At  the  close  of 
the  day  he  had  a  reserve  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Antie- 
tam Eiver  that  had  taken  no  part  in  the  contest,  quite 
equal  in  number  to  the  losses  sustained.  His  failure  to 
pursue  the  enemy  destroyed  the  confidence  of  the  army, 
and  henceforth  there  was  no  obstacle  in  the  removal  of 
McClellan  from  the  command. 

The  suggestions  of  McClellan,  whatever  may  have  been 
the  interpretation  given  to  the  language  employed,  could 
have  produced  no  impression  upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  beyond 
the  conviction  that  the  writer  was  deficient  in  those  qual- 
ities that  are  essential  to  leadership  when  the  trend  of 
events  is  adverse. 

To  one  opinion,  to  one  purpose,  Mr.  Lincoln  adhered 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  The  Union  was  to  be 
saved  by  the  exercise  of  power  within  the  scope  of  the 
Constitution.     Hence  he  annulled  the  emancipation  proc- 


12  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

lamation  of  Fremont  and  Hunter;  hence  lie  rebuked 
Hooker  for  the  remark  that  the  President  ought  to  pro- 
claim himself  Dictator ;  and  hence  he  delayed  the  Proc- 
lamation of  Emancipation  until  it  could  be  defended  on 
the  ground  of  military  necessity. 

I  turn  aside  from  Mr.  Lincoln  to  mention  an  incident 
which  opened  to  General  Hooker  his  career  in  the  army. 
In  the  month  of  May,  1861,  I  was  with  Senator  Sumner 
at  his  lodgings  at  the  corner  of  F  and  Thirteenth  Streets, 
Washington,  when  a  stranger  was  announced,  who  gave 
his  name  as  Hooker,  from  California.  He  was  of  middle 
age,  tall,  of  florid  complexion,  and  in  dress  and  general 
appearance  there  were  indications  of  poverty  rather  than 
wealth.  He  said  that  he  was  born  at  Northampton, 
Mass.,  that  he  was  educated  at  West  Point,  that  he  had 
served  in  the  army,  and  that  he  wished  for  the  colonelcy 
of  a  Massachusetts  regiment.  In  furtherance  of  his 
application  he  said  that  if  he  could  get  a  regiment,  he 
would  come  to  the  command  of  the  army  and  take  Rich- 
mond. It  might  seem  that  such  an  exhibition  of  con- 
ceit would  have  precluded  him  from  appointment;  but 
men  of  military  education  and  experience  were  not  to  be 
found,  and  without  much  delay  he  received  a  commission 
as  brigadier-general. 

When  he  came  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  the  realization  of  his  vain,  wild  boast  seemed 
possible.  His  resignation  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  was  due  to  his  vanity,  which  led  him  to  act 
before  he  had  knowledge  of  the  facts. 

Hooker  was  in  Washington  Thursday  of  the  week  be- 
fore the  battle,  and  at  a  conference  with  the  President 
and  the  Secretary  of  War,  it  was  agreed  to  hold  Harper's 
Perry,  which,  the  year  before,  had  been  surrendered  with 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  73 

great  loss  of  men  and  materials  of  war.  Upon  his  return 
to  headquarters  General  Hooker  changed  his  opinion, 
and,  without  reporting  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  he 
ordered  General  Wilson  to  evacuate  the  post  and  join 
the  main  army.  This  order  Wilson  transmitted  to  the 
Secretary  of  War.  Mr.  Stanton,  assuming  that  there 
had  been  an  error  in  the  dispatches,  or  a  misunderstand- 
ing, countermanded  Hooker's  order.  Thereupon  Hooker, 
without  seeking  for  an  explanation,  resigned  his  com- 
mand. It  was  then  that  Mr.  Lincoln  exhibited  his  pre- 
dominant quality  of  firmness  and  decision  under  trying 
circumstances.  Hooker's  resignation  was  accepted,  and 
Meade  was  at  once  placed  in  command. 

Mr.  Lincoln  possessed  a  quality  called  sagacity,  but 
which  in  him  was  wisdom,  or  a  near  approach  to  what 
passes  for  wisdom  in  man. 

Mr.  Seward's  letter  of  May,  1861,  to  Mr.  Adams,  in 
regard  to  the  recognition  by  Great  Britain  of  belligerent 
rights  in  the  Confederate  Government,  with  Mr.  Lincoln's 
emendations,  is  a  well-known  historical  document. 

Mr.  Lincoln  changed  the  pivot  on  which  the  communi- 
cation was  made  to  turn.  In  the  letter,  as  it  came  from 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Seward,  Great  Britain  was  arraigned 
upon  the  allegation  that  the  proclamation  was  without 
due  authority  in  usage  or  in  the  law  of  nations,  and  that 
it  was  a  proceeding  for  which  we  might  seek  compensa- 
tion or  resort  to  retaliation. 

As  an  indication  of  his  skill,  which  was  manifested  in 
many  of  the  corrections  made,  I  mention  the  fact  that  he 
changed  the  word  wrongful  to  the  word  hurtful.  The 
word  wrongful  looks  to  the  motive  and  it  implies  a  degree 
of  moral  turpitude ;  while  the  word  hurtful  relates  solely 
to  consequences  and  avoids  all  reflection  upon  the  motive 
of  the  actor. 


74  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  was  called  to  the  work  of  criticising 
that  important  State  paper,  he  had  been  three  months 
only  in  office,  he  had  had  no  experience  in  diplomacy, 
and  his  life  as  a  lawyer,  limited  as  his  services  were  to 
topics  of  local  and  domestic  concern,  was  in  no .  sense  a 
preparation  for  the  delicate  duty  which  he  then  and  thus 
performed.  In  this  connection  the  fate  of  that  important 
paper  may  have  interest. 

During  General  Grant's  first  term  the  Seward  draft, 
which  contained  Mr.  Lincoln's  emendations,  was  brought 
to  a  Cabinet  meeting  by  Mr.  Fish,  then  Secretary  of  State. 
The  interest  in  the  paper  was  so  great  that  I  proposed 
to  have  it  photographed  by  the  photographer  of  the 
Treasury.  This  was  done.  A  few  copies,  not  more  than 
twelve,  I  think,  were  prepared,  and  the  negative  was 
destroyed.  A  copy  was  taken  by  each  member  of  the 
Cabinet,  and  the  extra  copies,  with  the  original,  were 
taken  by  Mr.  Fish.  While  there  was  no  injunction  of 
secrecy,  I  think  it  was  understood  that  the  photographs 
were  not  to  be  given  to  the  public. 

In  April,  1886,  there  appeared  in  the  North  American 
Review  a  facsimile  of  the  paper.  As  there  were  some 
differences  between  the  facsimile  and  the  photograph  in 
my  possession,  I  made  application  at  the  State  Depart- 
ment for  the  original,  that  I  might  trace  the  error.  I 
was  informed  that  the  original  had  disappeared. 

In  1864,  Mr.  Chase  was  nominated  for  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States.  After  the  nomination  was  made  I 
took  occasion  to  say  to  the  President  that  I  was  glad 
Mr.  Chase  had  been  nominated.  He  then  said :  "  There 
are  three  reasons  why  he  should  be  appointed  and  one 
reason  why  he  should  not  be.  In  the  first  place  he  occu- 
pies a  larger  space  in  the  public  mind,  with  reference  to 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  75 

the  office,  than  any  other  person.  Then  we  want  a  man 
who  will  sustain  the  Legal  Tender  Act  and  the  Procla- 
mation of  Emancipation.  We  cannot  ask  a  candidate 
what  he  would  do ;  and  if  we  did  and  he  should  answer, 
we  should  only  despise  him  for  it.  But  he  wants  to  be 
President,  and  if  he  doesn't  give  that  up  it  will  be  a 
great  injury  to  him  and  a  great  injury  to  me.  He  can 
never  be  President."  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  in  Washington,  near  the  end  of  February,  1861, 
the  Massachusetts  delegation  in  the  Peace  Congress 
called  upon  him  and  recommended  Mr.  Chase  for  the 
Treasury  Department. 

In  reply,  he  said:  "From  what  I  know  and  hear  I 
think  Mr.  Chase  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  any 
other  man's  hundred  for  that  place." 

During  the  War  there  was  a  concerted  movement  in 
Congress  to  secure  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Seward  from 
the  Cabinet.  The  leaders  were  the  friends  of  Mr.  Chase. 
It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  early,  daily  and 
accurate  information  of  the  movement. 

Finally  a  delegation  of  the  discontented  called  upon 
Mr.  Lincoln  and  presented  their  views.  He  was  pre- 
pared fully,  and  without  intimating  a  purpose  to  resist 
their  recommendation,  he  said,  in  substance,  that  his 
Cabinet  was  organized  upon  the  idea  of  recognizing  the 
various  interests  in  the  party  that  were  represented  at 
Chicago,  and  that  the  change  suggested  would  involve  its 
reorganization.  Thus  by  a  sentence  was  the  movement 
controlled  and  the  controversy  ended. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  critical  tastes  and  a  keen  relish  for 
good  writings,  both  of  poetry  and  prose.  I  recall  a  con- 
versation in  which  he  eulogized  Fisher  Ames  as  an 
orator,  and  recited  an  extract  from  his  oration  on  the 


76  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Jay  Treaty.  It  was  known  to  those  who  were  near 
President  Lincoln  that  he  was  a  careful  student  of  the 
War  maps  and  that  he  had  daily  knowledge  of  the  posi- 
tion and  strength  of  our  armies.  I  recall  the  incident  of 
meeting  him  on  the  steps  of  the  Executive  mansion  at 
about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  the  news  had 
but  just  then  reached  the  War  Department  that  Grant 
had  crossed  Black  River  and  that  the  army  was  in  the 
rear  of  Vicksburg.  The  President  was  returning  from 
the  War  Office  with  a  copy  of  the  dispatch  in  his  hand. 
I  said :  "  Mr.  President,  have  you  any  news  ?  "  He  said 
in  reply :  "  Come  in,  and  I  will  tell  you." 

After  reading  the  dispatch  he  turned  to  his  maps  and 
traced  the  line  of  Grant's  movements,  as  he  then  under- 
stood and  comprehended  those  movements.  That  night 
the  President  became  cheerful,  his  voice  took  on  a  new 
tone  —  a  tone  of  relief,  of  exhilaration  —  and  it  was  evi- 
dent that  his  faith  in  our  ultimate  success  had  been 
changed  into  absolute  confidence. 

In  the  dark  days  of  1862  he  had  never  despaired  of 
the  Eepublic.  When  others  faltered  he  was  undismayed. 
He  put  aside  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Seward  that  he  should 
surrender  the  chief  prerogatives  of  his  office ;  he  rebuked 
the  suggestion  of  General  Hooker  that  he  should  declare 
himself  Dictator;  and  he  treated  with  silent  contempt 
the  advice  of  General  McClellan  from  Harrison's  Land- 
ing, in  July,  1862,  that  the  President  should  put  himself 
at  the  head  of  military  and  civil  affairs,  with  a  general 
in  command  of  the  army  on  whom  he  could  rely,  and 
thus  assume  the  dictatorship  of  the  Eepublic.  He  as- 
serted for  himself  every  prerogative  which  the  Constitu- 
tion and  the  laws  conferred  upon  him,  and  he  declined  to 
assume  any  power  not  warranted  by  the  title  of  the  office 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  11 

which  he  held.  He  was  resolute  in  his  purpose  to  per- 
form every  duty  that  devolved  upon  him,  but  he  declared 
that  the  responsibility  of  preserving  the  Government 
rested  upon  the  people. 

In  the  further  attempt  to  deal  with  Mr.  Lincoln  as  a 
historical  personage,  it  is  to  be  said  that  his  services  and 
fame  are  so  identified  with  the  organization,  doings  and 
character  of  the  Republican  Party,  that  something  of  the 
history  of  that  party  is  the  necessary  incident  of  every 
presentation  of  his  services  and  of  his  claim  to  rank 
among  the  leading  statesmen  of  modern  times. 

In  a  very  important  sense  Mr.  Lincoln  may  be  regarded 
as  the  founder  of  the  Republican  Party.  He  was  its  leader 
in  the  first  successful  national  contests,  and  it  was  dur- 
ing his  administration,  as  President,  that  the  policy  of 
the  party  was  developed  and  its  capacity  for  the  busi- 
ness of  government  established. 

The  Republican  Party  gave  to  Mr.  Lincoln  the  oppor- 
tunity for  the  services  on  which  his  fame  rests,  and  the 
fame  of  Mr.  Lincoln  is  the  especial  inheritance  of  the 
Republican  Party.  His  eulogy  is  its  encomium,  and, 
therefore,  when  we  set  forth  the  character  and  services 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  we  set  forth  as  well  the  claims  of  the 
Republican  Party  to  the  confidence  and  gratitude  of  the 
country  and  the  favorable  opinion  of  mankind. 

If  it  could  be  assumed  that  for  the  Republican  Party 
the  Book  of  Life  is  already  closed,  it  is  yet  true  that  that 
party  is  a  historical  party,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  a  historical 
personage ;  not  less  so  than  Cromwell,  Napoleon  or  Wash- 
ington, and  all  without  the  glamour  that  magnifies  the 
careers  of  successful  military  chieftains. 

Of  Mr.  Lincoln's  predecessors  in  the  Presidential  office, 
two  only,  Washington  and  Jefferson,  can  be  regarded  as 


78  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

| 

historical  personages  in  a  large  view  of  history.  The 
author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is  so  identi- 
fied with  the  history  of  the  country  that  that  history  can- 
not outlast  his  name  and  fame.  As  the  author  of  that 
Declaration,  and  as  the  exponent  of  new  and  advanced 
ideas  of  government,  Jefferson  was  elected  to  the  Presi- 
dency ;  but  his  administrations  were  not  marked  by  dis- 
tinguished ability,  nor  were  they  attended  or  followed 
by  results  which  have  commanded  the  favorable  opinion 
of  succeeding  generations.  Washington  had  no  competi- 
tors. The  gratitude  of  his  countrymen  rebuked  all  rival- 
ries. He  was  borne  to  the  Presidency  by  a  vote  quite 
unanimous,  and  he  was  supported  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  by  a  confidence  not  limited  by  the  boundaries  of 
the  Eepublic. 

It  is  only  a  moderate  exaggeration  to  say  that  when 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  he  was  an 
unknown  man;  he  had  performed  no  important  public 
service;  his  election  was  not  due  to  personal  popularity, 
nor  to  the  strength  of  the  party  that  he  represented,  but 
to  the  divisions  among  his  opponents. 

In  1862  when  eleven  hostile  States  were  not  repre- 
sented in  the  Government,  the  weakness  of  the  adminis- 
tration was  such  that  only  a  bare  majority  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  was  secured,  after  a  vigorous  and  aggres- 
sive campaign,  on  the  part  of  the  Republican  Party. 

Thus  do  the  circumstances  and  incidents  in  the  forma- 
tive period  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  career  illustrate  and  adorn 
the  events  that  distinguish  the  man,  the  party  and  the 
country. 

I  am  quite  conscious  that  in  an  attempt  to  give  Mr. 
Lincoln  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  ranks  of  historical 
personages  I  am  to  encounter   a  large  and  intelligent 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  79 

public  opinion  which  claims  that  distance  in  time,  and 
even  distance  in  space,  are  the  necessary  conditions  of  a 
wise  and  permanent  decision.  The  representatives  of 
that  opinion  maintain  that  contemporaries  are  too  near 
the  object  of  vision,  that  to  them  a  comprehensive  view 
is  impossible,  and  that  the  successive  generations  of  one's 
countrymen  may  be  influenced  by  inherited  passions,  or 
by  transmitted  traditions. 

Some  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  contemporaries  remain,  and  one 
and  all  we  are  his  countrymen,  and  in  advance  we  may 
accept,  joyfully,  any  qualification  of  our  opinions  that 
may  be  made  in  other  lands,  or  by  other  ages,  if  qualify- 
ing facts  shall  be  disclosed  hereafter.  Nearness  of  obser- 
vation and  a  knowledge  of  the  events  with  which  Mr. 
Lincoln's  public  life  was  identified,  may  have  given  to  his 
associates  and  coworkers  opportunities  for  a  sound  judg- 
ment that  were  not  possessed  by  contemporary  critics 
and  historians  of  other  lands,  and  that  the  students  of 
future  times  will  be  unable  to  command. 

The  recent  practical  improvements  in  the  art  of  print- 
ing, the  telegraph  and  the  railway  have  furnished  to 
mankind  the  means  of  reaching  safe  conclusions  on  all 
matters  of  importance,  including  biography  and  history, 
with  a  celerity  and  certainty  which  to  former  ages  were 
unknown.  In  these  thirty  years  since  the  death  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  there  has  been  a  wonderful  exposition  of  the 
events  and  circumstances  of  the  stupendous  contest  in 
which  he  was  the  leading  figure. 

Of  the  minor  incidents  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  career,  time 
and  research  may  disclose  many  facts  not  now  known, 
which  may  lend  coloring  to  a  character  whose  main 
features,  however,  cannot  be  changed  by  time  nor  by 
criticism.     The  nature  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  services  we  can 


80  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

comprehend,  but  their  value  will  be  more  clearly  real- 
ized and  more  highly  appreciated  by  posterity.  As  to 
the  nature  of  those  services  the  judgment  of  his  own 
generation  is  final  —  it  can  never  be  reversed.  Indeed, 
it  may  be  asserted  of  historical  personages,  generally, 
that  the  judgment  of  contemporaries  is  never  reversed. 
Attempts  have  been  made  to  reverse  the  judgment  of 
contemporaries  in  the  cases  of  Judas  Iscariot,  Henry 
VIII  and  Shakespeare,  but  all  these  attempts  have  failed, 
and  most  signally.  In  our  own  country  there  have  been 
no  reversals.  Modifications  of  opinion  there  have  been 
—  growth  in  some  cases,  decrease  in  others ;  but  absolute 
change  in  none.  The  country  has  grown  toward  Hamil- 
ton and  away  from  Jefferson.  They  are,  however,  as 
they  were  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  the  represen- 
tatives of  antagonistic  ideas  of  government;  but  their 
common  patriotism  is,  as  yet,  unchallenged. 

It  is  the  fate  of  those  who  take  an  active  part  in 
public  affairs  to  be  misjudged  during  their  lives,  but 
death  softens  the  asperities  of  xj°litical  an(i  religious 
controversies  and  tempers  the  judgments  of  those  who 
survive. 

Franklin,  Washington,  Jefferson,  Jackson,  Clay  and 
Webster,  are  to  this  generation  what  they  were  to  the 
survivors  of  the  generation  to  which  they  belonged, 
respectively. 

Mr.  Calhoun  has  suffered  by  the  attempt  to  make  a 
practical  application  of  his  ideas  of  government,  but  the 
nature  and  dangerous  character  of  those  ideas  were  as 
fully  understood  at  the  time  of  his  death  as  they  are  at 
the  present  moment. 

I  pass  over  as  unworthy  of  further  serious  considera- 
tion, the  detractions  and  attacks,  sometimes  thoughtless 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  81 

and  sometimes  malicious,  to  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  sub- 
ject during  his  administration.  He  made  explanations 
and  replies  to  those  detractions  and  attacks  only  when 
they  seemed  to  put  in  peril  the  fortunes  of  the  country ; 
but  when  he  made  replies  there  were  none  found,  either 
among  his  political  friends  or  his  political  enemies,  who 
were  capable  of  making  an  adequate  answer. 

On  this  point  we  may  consult  his  correspondence  in 
regard  to  the  transit  of  troops  through  Maryland,  in 
regard  to  the  invasion  of  Virginia  in  case  the  city  of 
Washington  should  be  attacked  or  menaced  from  the 
right  bank  of  the  Potomac,  in  regard  to  the  suspension 
of  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  in  regard 
to  the  arrest  of  Vallandigham,  in  regard  to  our  foreign 
relations,  and,  finally,  we  may  consult  his  numerous 
papers  in  regard  to  the  subjects  for  which  the  war  should 
be  prosecuted,  and  the  means  as  well  by  which  it  could 
be  prosecuted. 

We  must  realize  that  this  work  was  done  by  a  man 
called  to  the  head  of  an  administration  that  had  no 
predecessor,  to  the  management  of  a  Government  dis- 
tracted by  civil  war,  its  navy  scattered,  its  treasury 
bankrupted,  its  foreign  relations  disturbed  by  a  tradi- 
tional and  almost  universal  hostility  to  Eepublican  insti- 
tutions, and  all  while  he  was  threatened  constantly  by 
an  adverse  public  judgment  in  that  section  of  country  on 
which  his  hopes  rested  exclusively. 

We  must  realize,  also,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  had  little 
or  no  experience  on  the  statesmanship  side  of  his  politi- 
cal career ;  that  as  an  attorney  and  advocate  he  had  dealt 
only  with  local  and  municipal  law;  that  he  had  been 
separated  by  circumstances  from  a  practical  acquaint- 
ance  with    maritime   and    international   jurisprudence; 


82  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  yet,  consider  further,  with  what  masterful  force  he 
rebuked  timid  or  untrustworthy  friends  who  would  have 
abandoned  the  contest,  and  consented  to  the  independence 
of  the  seceding  States  in  the  vain  hope  that  time  might 
aid  in  the  recovery  of  that  which  by  pusillanimity  had 
been  lost ;  with  what  serenity  of  manner  he  put  aside 
the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Seward  that  war  should  be  declared 
against  France  and  Spain,  as  a  means  of  quieting  domes- 
tic difficulties  which  even  then  were  represented  by  con- 
tending armies  ;  with  what  calmness  of  mind  he  laid 
aside  Mr.  Greeley's  letter  of  despair  and  self-reproach  of 
July  29th,  1861,  and  proceeded  in  the  preparation  of  his 
program  of  military  operations  from  every  base  line  of 
the  armies  of  the  Republic ;  with  what  skill  and  states- 
manlike foresight  he  corrected  Mr.  Seward's  letter  to 
Mr.  Adams  in  regard  to  the  recognition  by  Great  Britain 
of  the  belligerent  character  of  the  Confederate  States ; 
and,  finally,  consider  with  what  firmness  and  wisdom  he 
annulled  the  proclamation  of  Fremont  and  Hunter  and 
reserved  to  himself,  exclusively,  the  right  and  the  power 
to  deal  with  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  rebellious 
States. 

In  what  other  time,  to  what  other  ruler  have  questions 
of  such  importance  been  presented  and  under  circum- 
stances so  difficult  ?  And  to  what  other  ruler  can  we 
assign  the  ability  to  have  met  and  to  have  managed  suc- 
cessfully all  the  difficult  problems  of  the  Civil  War  ? 

It  cannot  be  claimed  for  Mr.  Lincoln  that  he  had  had 
any  instructive  military  experience,  or  that  he  had  any 
technical  knowledge  of  the  military  art ;  but  it  may  be  said 
with  truth  that  his  correspondence  with  the  generals  of 
the  army  and  his  memoranda  touching  military  operations 
indicate   the  presence   of  a  military  quality  or   faculty 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  83 

which  in  actual  service  might  have  been  developed  into 
talent  or  even  genius. 

His  letter  to  General  McClellan,  of  October  13th,  1862, 
is  at  once  a  memorable  evidence  and  a  striking  illustration 
of  his  faculty  on  the  military  side  of  his  career.  He  sets 
forth  specifically  and  in  the  alternative  two  plans  of  opera- 
tion, and  with  skill  and  caustic  severity  he  contrasts  the 
inactivity  and  delays  of  General  McClellan  with  the  vigor 
of  policy  and  celerity  of  movement  which  characterized 
the  campaign  on  the  part  of  the  enemy. 

He  brings  in  review  the  facts  that  General  McClellan's 
army  was  superior  in  numbers,  in  equipment  and  in  all 
the  material  of  war.  In  conclusion  the  President  said: 
"  This  letter  is  not  to  be  considered  as  an  order  "  ;  and  yet 
it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  the  continued  inactivity  of  Gen- 
eral McClellan  with  the  claim  that  he  was  a  patriotic, 
not  to  say  an  active  supporter  of  the  Union. 

With  that  letter  in  hand  a  patriotic  and  sensitive  com- 
mander would  have  acted  at  once  upon  one  of  the  alter- 
natives presented  by  the  President,  or  he  would  have 
formed  a  plan  of  campaign  for  himself  and  ordered  a 
movement  without  delay,  or  he  would  have  asked  the 
President  to  relieve  him  from  the  command  of  the 
army. 

No  one  of  these  courses  was  adopted,  and  the  policy 
of  inactivity  was  continued  until  General  Lee  regained 
the  vantage  ground  which  he  had  abandoned  when  he 
crossed  the  Potomac  into  Maryland.  It  is  at  this  point 
and  in  this  juncture  of  affairs  that  the  policy  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln requires  the  explanation  of  a  friendly  critic.  The 
historian  of  the  future  may  wonder  at  the  procrastination 
of  the  President ;  he  may  criticise  his  conduct  in  neglect- 
ing to  relieve  McClellan  when  it  was  apparent  that  he 


84  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

would  not  avail  himself  of  the  advantages  that  were  pre- 
sented by  the  victory  of  Antietam. 

The  explanation  is  this,  in  substance :  The  army  of  the 
Potomac  had  been  created  under  the  eye  of  McClellan, 
and  the  officers  and  men  were  devoted  to  him  as  their 
leader  and  chief.  They  had  had  but  slight  opportunities 
for  instituting  comparison  between  him  and  other  military 
men.  After  Pope's  defeat  the  army  had  been  unanimous, 
substantially,  in  the  opinion  that  McClellan  should  be 
again  placed  in  command.  The  President  had  yielded  to 
that  opinion  and  against  his  own  judgment.  Having  thus 
yielded,  it  was  wise  to  test  McClellan  until  the  confidence 
of  the  army  and  the  country  should  have  become  im- 
paired, or,  otherwise,  as  the  President  hoped  would  be 
the  result  —  until  McClellan  should  satisfy  the  adminis- 
tration and  the  army  that  he  was  equal  to  the  duty  im- 
posed upon  him.  Hence  the  delay  until  the  fifth  of 
November,  when  McClellan  was  relieved,  finally,  from 
the  military  service  of  the  country.  Of  the  officers  who 
successively  were  at  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, no  one  ever  possessed  the  full  confidence  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  until  General  Grant  assumed  that  command  in 
person. 

Turning  again  to  the  civil  side  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  admin- 
istration we  may  consider  the  steps  by  which  he  led  the 
opinion  of  the  country  up  to  the  point  where  the  nation 
was  ready  to  accept  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  States 
engaged  in  the  Rebellion. 

History  must  soon  address  itself  to  generations  of 
Americans  who  will  have  had  no  knowledge  of  the  in- 
stitution of  slavery  as  an  existing  fact.  Indeed,  at  the 
present  time  more  than  one  half  of  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  have  no  memory  of  the  era  when  slavery 


"V 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  85 

was  the  dominating  force  in  the  politics  of  the  country ; 
when  it  was  interwoven  in  the  daily  domestic  life  of  the 
inhabitants  of  fifteen  States ;  when  it  muzzled  the  press, 
perverted  the  Scriptures,  compelled  the  pulpit  to  become 
its  apologist,  and  when  successive  generations  of  states- 
men were  "  brought  down  on  an  equality  of  servitude " 
before  an  irresponsible  and  untitled  oligarchy. 

As  early  as  the  year  1839,  Mr.  Clay  estimated  the  value 
of  the  slaves  at  one  thousand  and  two  hundred  million 
dollars,  and  upon  the  same  basis  their  value  in  1860 
exceeded  two  thousand  million. 

This  statement  conveys  only  an  inadequate  idea  of  the 
power  of  slavery,  and  it  presents  only  an  imperfect  view 
of  the  difficulties  which  confronted  Mr.  Lincoln  in  1861 
and  1862.  Delaware,  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  Ken-' 
tucky  and  Missouri  were  slave  States,  and  all  of  them, 
with  the  exception  of  Delaware,  were  hesitating  between 
secession  and  the  cause  of  the  Union.  They  were  in 
favor  of  the  Union,  if  slavery  could  be  saved  with  the 
Union ;  but  it  was  doubtful  in  all  the  year  1861  whether 
those  States  could  be  held  to  the  "  Lincoln  Government," 
as  it  was  derisively  called,  if  the  abolition  of  slavery  were 
a  recognized  part  of  our  public  policy. 

Nor  is  this  even  yet  a  full  statement  of  the  difficulties 
which  confronted  Mr.  Lincoln.  With  varying  degrees  of 
intensity  the  Democratic  Party  of  the  North  sympathized 
with  the  South,  and  arraigned  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Re- 
publican Party  for  all  the  evils  that  the  country  was 
called  to  endure.  During  the  entire  period  of  the  War 
New  York,  Ohio  and  Indiana  were  doubtful  States,  and 
Indiana  was  kept  in  line  only  by  the  active  and  desperate 
fidelity  of  Oliver  P.  Morton. 

In  the  presence  of  these  difficulties  Mr.  Lincoln  recom- 


86  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

mended  the  purchase  of  all  the  slaves  in  the  States  not 
in  rebellion ;  then  he  suggested  the  deportation  of  the 
manumitted  slaves  and  the  free  blacks  to  Central  Amer- 
ica, and  for  that  purpose  an  appropriation  was  made. 
Then  came  a  proposition  to  give  pecuniary  aid  to  States 
that  might  make  provision  for  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
These  propositions  were  not  acted  upon  nor  accepted 
by  the  States,  and  then  came  the  statute  of  July, 
1862,  by  which  slaves  captured  and  the  slaves  of  all 
persons  engaged  in  the  Eebellion  were  declared  to  be 
free. 

It  is  not  probable  that  Mr.  Lincoln  entertained  the 
opinion  that  these  measures,  one  or  all,  would  secure  the 
abolition  of  slavery;  but  they  gave  to  the. slaveholders  of 
the  border  States  an  opportunity  to  obtain  compensation 
for  the  loss  of  their  slaves,  and  the  pendency  of  these 
propositions  occupied  the  attention  of  the  country  while 
the  formative  processes  were  going  on,  which  matured, 
finally,  in  the  conviction  that  slavery  and  the  Union 
could  no  longer  coexist. 

In  the  same  period  of  time  the  country  reached  the 
conclusion  that  separation  and  continuous  peace  were 
impossible.  The  alternative  was  this :  A  division  of  the 
Union,  slavery  in  the  South  and  a  condition  of  perma- 
nent border  warfare ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  a  Union  of 
States,  domestic  peace,  a  Government  of  imperial  power, 
with  equality  of  citizenship  in  the  States  and  an  equality 
of  States  in  the  Union. 

Thus  his  measures,  which  were  at  once  measures  of 
expediency  and  of  delay,  prepared  the  public  mind  to 
receive  his  monitory  proclamation  of  September,  1862. 
In  that  time  the  border  States  had  come  to  realize  the 
fact  that  the  Negroes  were  no  longer  valuable  as  prop- 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  87 

erty,  and   they  therefore,  though   reluctantly,    accepted 
emancipation  as  the  means  of  ending  the  controversy. 

To  the  Republicans  of  the  North,  the  Proclamation 
was  a  welcome  message.  To  the  Democrats  it  was  a 
result  which  they  had  predicted  and  against  which  they 
had  in  vain  protested.  But  the  controversy  over  slavery 
would  not  have  ended  with  the  Proclamation  nor  with 
the  surrender  at  Appomattox. 

Slavery  existed  in  the  States  that  had  not  engaged  in 
the  Rebellion,  and  the  legality  of  the  Emancipation  Proc- 
lamation might  be  drawn  in  question  in  the  courts. 
One  thing  more  was  wanted  —  an  Amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution abolishing  slavery  everywhere  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  United  States. 

The  preliminary  resolution  was  secured  after  a  pro- 
tracted struggle  in  Congress,  and  the  result  was  due,  in  a 
pre-eminent  degree,  to  the  personal  and  official  influence 
of  Mr.  Lincoln.  In  one  phrase  it  may  be  said  that  every 
power  of  his  office  was  exerted  to  secure  in  the  Thirty- 
eighth  Congress  the  passage  of  the  resolution  by  which 
the  proposed  amendment  was  submitted  to  the  States. 

Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  live  to  see  the  consummation  of 
his  great  undertaking  in  the  cause  of  freedom ;  but  the 
work  of  ratification  by  the  States  was  accelerated  by  his 
death,  and  on  the  eighteenth  day  of  December,  1865,  Mr. 
Seward,  then  Secretary  of  State,  made  proclamation  that 
the  amendments  had  been  ratified  by  twenty-seven  of  the 
thirty-six  States  then  composing  the  Union,  and  that 
slavery  and  involuntary  servitude  were  from  that  time 
and  forever  forth  impossible  within  our  limits. 

Our  example  has  wrought  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
Brazil  and  in  the  colonies  of  Spain  and  Portugal ;  it  has 
led  to  the  extermination  of  the  transatlantic  slave  trade, 


88  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  it  has  been  an  inspiration  to  the  nations  of  Europe 
in  their  efforts  to  destroy  the  traffic  in  human  beings  on 
the  continent  of  Africa. 

There  is  an  aspect  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  career  which  must 
attract  attention  and  command  sympathy.  His  loneli- 
ness in  his  office  and  in  the  performance  of  his  duties  is 
deeply  pathetic.  It  is  true  that  Congress  accepted  and 
endorsed  his  measures,  generally,  as  they  were  presented 
from  time  to  time ;  but  there  were  bitter  complaints  on 
account  of  his  delays  on  the  slavery  question,  and  not 
infrequently  doubts  were  expressed  as  to  the  sincerity  of 
his  avowed  opinions.  There  were  little  intrigues  in  Con- 
gress, personal  rivalries  in  the  Cabinet,  and  aspirations 
in  regard  to  the  succession. 

The  commanders  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  from 
McDowell  to  Meade,  each  and  all  had  failed  to  win  vic- 
tories, or  they  had  failed  to  secure  the  reasonable  advan- 
tages of  victories  won. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  supremacy,  not  of  official  position  merely, 
but  of  character  as  well,  was  shown  in  his  preliminary 
statement  when  he  was  about  to  read  the  Proclamation 
of  Emancipation  to  the  members  of  his  Cabinet.  He 
was  then  about  to  take  the  most  important  step  ever 
taken  by  a  President  of  the  United  States,  and  yet  he 
informed  the  men,  and  the  only  men  whose  opinions  he 
could  command,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  that  the  main 
question  was  not  open  for  discussion ;  that  that  question 
had  been  by  him  already  decided,  and  that  suggestions 
from  them  would  be  received  only  in  reference  to  the 
formality  of  the  document. 

Our  estimate  of  Mr.  Lincoln  is  not  lowered  by  the  fact 
that  he  chose  to  act  upon  his  own  judgment  in  a  matter 
of  the  supremest  gravity,  and  in  relation  to  which,  and 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  89 

from  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  sole  responsibility  was 
upon  him.  On  the  great  question  of  the  abolition  of 
slavery  he  had  formed  a  definite  conclusion  —  a  con- 
clusion on  which  he  could  act,  and  on  which  he  did  act 
neither  prematurely  nor  after  unnecessary  delay.  The 
Proclamation  was  issued  when  the  exigencies  of  the 
War  justified  its  issue  as  a  military  necessity,  and  when, 
as  a  concurrent  fact,  the  public  mind  was  first  prepared 
to  receive  it  and  to  give  to  the  measure  the  requisite 
support. 

Mr.  Lincoln  prepared  the  way  for  the  reorganization 
of  the  Government  upon  a  new  basis.  Under  him  the 
old  order  of  things  was  overthrown,  and  the  introduction 
of  a  new  order  became  possible.  Through  his  agency  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  has  been  brought  into 
harmony  with  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  system  of  slavery  has  perished.  The  institutions 
of  the  country,  in  a  good  degree,  are  reconciled  with  the 
principles  of  freedom,  as  applied  in  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment ;  and  in  these  changes  we  find  additional  guaranties 
for  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union. 

Every  just  eulogy  on  Mr.  Lincoln  is  a  continuing  enco- 
mium of  the  Republican  Party.  By  the  election  of  1860 
he  became  the  head  of  that  party,  and  during  the  four 
years  and  more  of  his  official  life  he  never  claimed  to 
be  better  nor  wiser  than  the  party  with  which  he  was 
identified. 

From  first  to  last  he  had  the  full  confidence  of  the 
army  and  of  the  masses  of  the  voters  in  the  Republican 
Party;  and  of  that  confidence  Mr.  Lincoln  was  always 
assured.  Hence  he  was  able  to  meet  the  aspirations  of 
rivals  and  the  censures  of  the  disappointed  with  a  good 
degree  of  composure.     To  the  honor  of  the  masses  of  the 


90  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Republican  Party  it  can  be  said  that  they  never  faltered 
in  their  devotion  to  the  President,  and  in  that  devotion 
and  in  the  fidelity  of  the  President  to  the  party,  were 
the  foundations  laid  on  which  the  present  greatness  of 
the  country  rests ;  for  great  the  country  is,  whatever 
may  be  our  opinion  of  the  causes,  or  our  estimate  of  the 
intensity  of  the  calamities  that  now  afilict  us. 

The  measure  of  gratitude  due  to  Mr.  Lincoln  and  to 
the  Eepublican  Party  may  be  estimated  by  a  comparison 
of  the  condition  of  the  country  when  that  party  accepted 
power  in  March,  1861,  with  its  condition  in  1885  and  1893 
when  it  yielded  the  administration  to  the  successors  of 
the  men  who  had  well-nigh  wrecked  the  Government  in 
a  former  generation.  Speaking  for  the  Eepublican  Party 
we  may  say,  "  we  found  the  Union  a  mass  of  sand ;  we 
left  it  a  structure  of  granite.  We  found  the  Union  a 
byword  among  the  nations  of  the  earth ;  we  left  it  illus- 
trious and  envied  for  the  exhibition  of  warlike  powers ; 
for  the  development  of  the  nation's  industrial  and  finan- 
cial resources  in  times  of  peace;  for  the  unwavering 
fidelity  with  which  every  pecuniary  obligation  was  met ; 
for  the  generous  treatment  measured  out  with  an  un- 
stinted hand  to  the  conquered  foe,  and,  finally,  for  the 
cheerful  recognition  of  the  duty  resting  upon  the  country 
to  enfranchise,  to  raise  up,  to  recreate  the  millions  that 
had  been  brought  out  of  bondage." 

This  work  was  not  accomplished  fully  in  Mr.  Lincoln's 
life ;  but  he  was  the  leader  of  ideas  and  policies  which 
could  have  had  no  other  proper  consummation.  At  the 
end  it  must  be  said  of  Mr.  Lincoln  that  he  was  a  great 
man  in  a  great  place,  burdened  with  great  responsibil- 
ities, which  he  used  for  the  benefit  of  his  country  and 
for  the  welfare  of  the  human  race. 


THE  CAREER  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  91 

Among  American  statesmen  lie  is  conspicuously  alone. 
From  Washington  and  Grant  he  is  separated  by  the 
absence,  on  his  part,  of  military  service  and  military 
renown.  On  the  statesmanship  side  of  his  career  there 
is  no  one  from  Washington,  and  thence  along  the  entire 
line  of  public  men,  who  can  be  compared  with  him ;  and 
we  may  wisely  commit  to  other  ages,  and  perhaps  to 
other  lands,  the  full  discussion  and  final  decision  of  the 
relative  claims  of  Washington  and  Lincoln  to  the  first 
place  in  the  list  of  American  statesmen. 

In  conclusion,  I  repeat  my  estimate  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as 
it  is  registered  in,  or  under,  the  corner  stone  of  his 
monument  at  Springfield,  111. : 

"President  Lincoln  excelled  all  his  contemporaries,  as  he  also 
excelled  most  of  the  eminent  rulers  of  every  time,  in  the  humanity 
of  his  nature;  in  the  constant  assertion  of  reason  over  passion 
and  feeling;  in  the  art  of  dealing  with  men;  in  fortitude,  never 
disturbed  by  adversity ;  in  capacity  for  delay  when  action  was 
fraught  with  peril ;  in  the  power  of  immediate  and  resolute  de- 
cision when  delays  were  dangerous ;  in  comprehensive  judgment 
which  forecasts  the  final  and  best  opinions  of  nations  and  of 
posterity ;  and  in  the  union  of  enlarged  patriotism,  wise  philan- 
thropy, and  the  highest  political  justice,  by  which  he  was  enabled 
to  save  a  nation  and  to  emancipate  a  race." 


FKOM  LIBBY  PKISON. 

THE  SOUTH  FEARED  LINCOLN'S  RENOMINATION. 

BY  GEN.  NEAL  DOW. 

I  never  saw  Mr.  Lincoln,  going  off  to  the  War  as  I  did 
at  the  beginning,  and  being  always  in  the  Department  of 
the  Gulf.  I  had  no  means  of  learning  anything  of  what 
was  going  on  in  the  North,  being  almost  all  the  time 
beyond  the  reach  of  newspapers  and  the  mails.  In  our 
Department  there  were  but  few  officers  who  were  dis- 
pleased with  the  President  for  his  emancipation  of  the 
slaves. 

When  I  was  in  Libby  Prison  preparation  was  made  to 
blow  up  the  part  of  it  which  contained  eleven  hundred 
officers.  Arrangements  were  made  to  do  this  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice;  the  proof  of  it  was  abundant  and  con- 
clusive. We  had  facilities  for  communication  with 
Washington  without  the  knowledge  of  the  rebels.  At 
that  time  there  was  great  fear  that  France  and  England 
would  acknowledge  the  Confederacy.  I  availed  myself 
of  my  opportunities  to  communicate  with  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  assure  him  that  eleven  hundred  lives  could  not  be 
sacrificed  to  so  great  advantage  to  the  country  as  to  have 
us  all  blown  up  by  the  rebels.  We  were  assured  that 
we  should  be  destroyed  in  that  way  if  an  attempt  were 
made  to  capture  Eichmond,  at  that  time  almost  entirely 
without  defence.     Some  of  our  company  wrote  to  the 

92 


FROM  LIBBY  PRISON.  93 

Secretary  of  War  entreating  that  no  attempt  should  be 
made  on  the  rebel  capital. 

Immediately  after  being  exchanged  for  Fitz-Hugh  Lee 
I  went  North,  and  in  Washington  was  taken  into  the 
House  of  Representatives,  where  I  was  immediately  sur- 
rounded by  a  large  body  of  the  members  and  business 
was  suspended.  At  that  time  a  strong  effort  was  made 
in  influential  quarters  to  substitute  some  other  candidate 
than  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the  ensuing  Presidential  election. 
The  members  of  the  House  crowded  about  me  to  know 
what  effect  such  a  measure  would  have  at  the  South. 
Great  was  the  joy  of  those  surrounding  me  when  I  said : 
The  rebels  are  now  exhausted  of  money  and  men  and 
hope ;  their  only  chance  is  that  Mr.  Lincoln  may  be 
set  aside,  as  they  would  regard  that  as  a  repudiation  of 
his  policy,  and  are  sure  that  peace  to  the  Confederacy, 
with  formal  dissolution  of  the  Union,  would  follow.  I 
did  not  see  the  President,  as  he  was  absent  at  the  moment. 

Portland,  Me. 


PRESIDENT     LINCOLN'S     KNOWLEDGE     OF 
HUMAN  NATURE:  A  CRITICAL   STUDY. 

BY  THE  HON.  THOMAS  L.  JAMES, 

Ex-P08TMA8TER  GENERAL. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  one  of 
those  men  of  whom  the  last  word  can  never  be  said.  For 
those  who  have  lived,  doing  great  things  for  humanity, 
and,  being  dead,  have  left  a  glorious  heritage  to  the 
world,  are  ever  of  fresh  interest  and  of  splendid  inspira- 
tion to  those  who  give  thought  to  their  achievements  and 
their  characters.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  one  of  these.  A  gen- 
eration has  passed  since  the  country  was  bereaved  by 
his  untimely  and  bloody  death ;  and  yet  there  is  fascina- 
tion to-day  in  the  story  of  his  career,  the  study  of  his 
character,  and  the  analysis  of  his  qualities ;  and  those 
anecdotes  which  are  told  illustrating  the  man  have  the 
charm  of  delightful  romance,  and  are  read  with  greater 
interest  than  the  most  brilliant  tales  of  the  writers  of 
fiction. 

Mr.  Lincoln  looked  forth  upon  the  world,  as  we  of 
to-day  now  realize,  with  almost  Shakespeare's  eyes ;  and 
it  was,  perhaps,  that  greater  quality  of  his,  that  subtle 
capacity  to  fathom  the  human  heart,  to  understand  its 
weakness  and  its  capacities,  and  so  understanding  to  be 
guided  by  them  in  his  own  direction  of  affairs,  and  in 

94 


KNOWLEDGE  OF  HUMAN  NATURE.  95 

the  discipline  which  made  it  possible  for  him  in  gieat 
emergencies  to  stand  forth  as  a  man  of  true  greatness, 
which  makes  the  consideration  of  him  to-day  as  fresh,  in- 
vigorating and  timely  as  it  was  when  those  great  affairs  of 
which  he  was  the  master  were  occupying  the  country's  eye. 

He  was  essentially  a  poet  by  nature,  not  with  that 
technical  facility  for  rhythm  or  command  of  prosody  by 
which  Shakespeare  was  able  to  reveal  human  nature  to 
the  world  with  immortal  sentence,  and  nevertheless  by 
those  homely  anecdotes  —  most  of  which  were  of  his  own 
creation,  as  wide  in  range  and  as  true  in  teaching  as  the 
Fables  of  iEsop  —  he  illustrated  the  weaknesses  and  the 
forces  of  human  nature  with,  perhaps,  almost  as  universal 
a  reach  as  did  Shakespeare  in  his  plays. 

This  greater  quality  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  —  greater  in  an 
intellectual  sense  —  is  now  beginning  to  be  understood. 
Years  passed  before  even  those  nearest  him  perceived 
this  quality ;  and  it  is  probable  that,  as  the  years  roll  by, 
and  critical  study  is  given  to  the  purely  mental  capacity 
of  Mr.  Lincoln,  it  will  furnish  as  profound  suggestion,  as 
amazing  revelation  of  his  all-comprehending  nature,  as 
does  the  investigation  of  the  works  of  the  great  drama- 
tists. Therefore,  there  need  be  no  fear  that,  upon  the 
anniversaries  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  birth  and  death,  nothing 
can  be  said  of  him  which  has  not  been  uttered  before. 
There  will  always  be  new  suggestions,  new  revelations, 
new  understandings,  for  of  such  capacity  was  the  quality 
of  his  intellect  and  soul. 

It  was  with  some  consciousness  of  this  that  Mr. 
Lincoln's  associate  upon  the  Presidential  ticket,  the  late 
Vice-President  Hamlin,  journeyed  in  the  dead  of  winter, 
bent  with  years  but  still  of  vigorous  intellect,  to  New 
York  City,  that  he  might  appear  before  the  Lincoln  Club 


96  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

on  the  anniversary  of  Lincoln's  birthday,  and  say  some- 
thing which  had  been  in  his  heart  to  say  ever  since,  in 
his  retirement  in  his  distant  home  in  Maine,  he  had 
turned  to  his  recollections  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  the  peaceful 
contemplation  of  his  old  age.  Mr.  Hamlin,  the  last  sur- 
vivor of  all  those  associated  with  Mr.  Lincoln  when  he 
took  the  Presidency,  stood  before  the  Lincoln  Club,  say- 
ing that  he  had  made  the  long  journey  that  he  might 
impress  upon  them  a  thought  which  had  come  to  him, 
and  that  was  that  the  nation  should  set  apart  the  anni- 
versary of  Lincoln's  birthday,  that  it  might  be  inspired 
by  a  study  of  his  character,  and  that  able  men,  and  plain, 
unlettered  folk  might,  upon  that  day,  give  their  testimony 
in  public  places  of  Lincoln  and  his  service  to  his  country. 

Scholars,  profound  students  and  men  of  critical  capac- 
ity will  have  abundant  inspiration  long  after  this  and 
succeeding  generations  have  passed  away,  for  study  into 
the  extraordinary  intellectual  qualifications  of  this  plain 
man  of  the  prairies.  But  a  greater  service  will  be  done 
to  the  American  people  than  any  that  critical  scholarship 
can  furnish  if,  upon  this  and  recurring  anniversaries,  the 
life  and  career  of  Mr.  Lincoln  are  so  presented  that  com- 
ing generations  shall  know  what  he  was,  what  he  did, 
and  what  the  lessons  of  inspiration  for  the  American 
people  in  these  achievements  are. 

Thirty-four  years  ago  last  February,  and  only  a  few 
days  after  the  51st  anniversary  of  his  birthday,  Mr. 
Lincoln  stood  upon  the  historic  platform  of  Cooper 
Institute  in  New  York.  The  cultured  men  of  the 
metropolis  had  known  him  only  through  that  unique 
repute,  which  his  brief  career,  before  the  public  eye,  in 
the  West,  had  furnished.  Our  professional  men,  our 
scholars  and  our  clergymen  had  heard,  through  vague 


KNOWLEDGE  OF  HUMAN  NATURE.  97 

reports  in  the  public  prints,  and  through  interesting 
sketches  brought  by  those  who  had  visited  the  West,  of 
a  lawyer  of  the  prairies,  an  unconventional  man,  who 
had  had  no  schooling,  whose  practice  was  in  the  rural 
circuit,  whose  companions  were  men  not  prominent  in 
public  affairs ;  but  who  had,  nevertheless,  met  Douglas, 
the  most  impetuous,  brilliant  and  overwhelming  debater 
of  his  day,  and  overthrown  him  in  a  series  of  public  ad- 
dresses in  those  towns.  They  had  also  heard  that  this 
country  lawyer,  whom  his  friends  called  "  Honest  Abe," 
with  patronizing  suggestion,  had  made  a  speech  in  which 
he  had  proclaimed,  before  the  idol  of  the  Republicans  of 
the  East,  Win.  H.  Seward,  had  done  so,  the  issue  upon 
which  the  "  Eebellion  "  was  created  and  crushed.  Sew- 
ard, in  his  Rochester  speech,  in  the  summer  of  1859,  had 
declared  that  there  was  an  "irrepressible  conflict "  be- 
tween slavery  and  freedom  in  this  country,  and  that  one 
or  the  other  would  be  victorious;  and  the  Republicans 
of  the  East  seized  that  laconic  term  "  Irrepressible  con- 
flict," and  made  it  the  watch-cry  of  their  organization. 
But  Lincoln,  two  months  before  Mr.  Seward  thus  crystal- 
lized the  doctrine  of  the  Republican  Party,  had,  with  finer 
metaphor  and  apter  illustration,  expressed  the  same  idea ; 
for,  in  his  speech  at  Chicago,  in  the  spring  of  1859,  he 
said  in  his  exordium: 

"A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.  I  believe  this 
Government  cannot  endure  half  slave,  half  free.  I  do  not  expect 
the  Union  dissolved,  I  do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall ;  but  I  do 
expect  it  will  cease  to  be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing,  or 
all  the  other." 

The  politicians  of  the  West,  to  whom  he  read  this 
speech  before  he  delivered  it,  criticised  it,  begging  to 


98  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

him  to  make  softer  utterance  of  that  truth ;  but  he  de- 
clared that  it  was  G-od's  truth ;  that  the  time  had  come 
for  uttering  it ;  and  that  the  people  were  ready  for  its 
enunciation ;  and,  therein,  two  years  before  he  became 
President,  he  had  displayed  that  marvellous  capacity  for 
fathoming  public  sentiment  and  of  being  guided  by  it, 
which  was  his  strength  during  his  administration. 

With  the  repute  caused  by  this  speech  in  the  West, 
Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  Cooper  Union.  A  notable  throng 
was  gathered  to  hear  him.  The  poet  Bryant  presided ; 
and,  in  that  historic  second  cradle  of  liberty,  which 
Cooper  Union  is,  there  were  gathered  representatives  of 
culture,  financial  power  and  the  lofty  character  which 
makes  New  York  of  pre-eminent  influence.  These  men 
eyed  the  tall,  gaunt  lawyer  from  the  West  with  curious 
glance  ;  and,  if  most  of  them  had  spoken  with  the  truth, 
they  would  have  said  it  was  a  half-humorous  curiosity 
which  brought  them  to  that  place  to  hear  this  Western 
lawyer ;  but,  when  he  had  finished  that  masterly  address 
—  pre-eminent  in  its  ability,  cool  and  remorseless  in  its 
logic,  conciliatory  and  tender  in  its  suggestions  —  no 
feeling  of  curiosity  mastered  that  great  throng,  but  one 
of  profound  respect  and  admiration,  so  that  they  asked 
one  another,  "  What  manner  of  man  is  this  lawyer  of  the 
West,  who  has  set  forth  these  truths  as  we  have  never 
yet  heard  them  before  ?  "  That  address  disclosed  one  of 
the  capacities  of  Mr.  Lincoln  which  we  understood  better 
afterward.  It  was  the  ability  to  grasp  opinion  as  it  was 
asserting  itself  among  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  to 
make  such  perfect  presentation  of  it  as  caused  him  to  be 
regarded,  not  as  a  follower  of  opinion,  but  as  the  creator 
and  leader  of  it.  Often  Mr.  Lincoln  said,  "  I  do  not  lead ; 
I  only  follow."     But  there  was  the  genius,  such  as  has 


KNOWLEDGE  OF  HUMAN  NATURE.  99 

been  given  to  few  men  in  this  world,  revealed  in  that 
following,  so  that  it  appeared  like  leadership. 

It  is  this  quality  which  those  who  aspire  to  leadership 
in  this  day  and  in  future  would  do  well  to  study.  There 
are  those  who  mistake  their  own  obstinacy,  deeming  it 
but  the  conviction  of  the  public ;  there  are  those  who 
believe  that,  in  a  Republic  like  ours,  leadership  forces 
public  opinion  and  does  not  follow  it ;  and  the  political 
graveyards  are  filled  with  buried  ambitions  and  crushed 
hopes,  because  of  that  mistake,  which  Mr.  Lincoln  never 
made.  He  had  extraordinary  courage ;  but  it  was  not 
the  courage  of  brute  obstinacy  or  insensibility.  When,  a 
month  after  his  inauguration,  that  man  of  supreme  ability 
and  splendid  acquirements,  Governor  Seward,  who  had 
been  chosen  Secretary  of  State,  laid  before  Mr.  Lincoln  a 
certain  paper  containing  suggestions  as  to  policy  and  an 
intimation  that  the  President  might  commit  to  his  Secre- 
tary the  carrying  out  of  that  policy,  Mr.  Lincoln  saw 
that  the  time  had  come  when  it  must  be  shown  to  his 
Cabinet,  that  he  could  delegate  no  powers  and  responsi- 
bilities, and  that  he  must  command  his  administration. 
But  it  was  in  gentle  courtesy  that  he  took  the  paper  from 
his  Secretary  of  State,  placed  it  in  his  portfolio,  and, 
with  wise  and  sad  admonition,  indicated  that  the  policy 
which  he  proposed  he  would  carry  out ;  and,  from  that 
day  until  his  death,  he  was  the  master  of  his  official 
servants. 

He  showed  courage,  when,  in  a  time  of  great  emer- 
gency, he  sent  for  that  Western  lawyer,  who  was  not 
even  of  his  political  party,  and  asked  him  to  enter  the 
Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  War.  There  was  every  reason, 
at  least  personal  inclination,  why  Mr.  Lincoln  should 
have  chosen    almost   any   other    competent    man  than 


100  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Edward  M.  Stanton  for  that  post.  Stanton  had  been  a 
member  of  Buchanan's  Cabinet.  Only  a  few  years  before 
he  had  met  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  the  prosecution  of  a  law  case 
at  Cincinnati ;  and  he,  with  humiliating  offensiveness, 
snubbed  the  country  lawyer  of  Illinois.  Yet, this,  and 
other  considerations,  had  no  more  weight  with  Mr.  Lin- 
coln than  would  have  been  the  case  had  they  not  existed. 
He  had  the  courage  to  call  a  Democrat  to  his  Cabinet, 
because  he  perceived  that  that  man  possessed  those  un- 
usual qualifications  which  were  imperative  for  a  success- 
ful conduct  of  the  War  Department,  and  he  knew  that 
behind  Mr.  Stanton's  failings  of  temperament,  there  was 
an  absorbing  love  of  his  country  and  an  honesty  of 
character,  such  as  few  men  possess.  With  Stanton  he 
could  be  firm  and  courageous,  yielding  often  in  trifles, 
but  masterful  when  there  was  need  of  it.  Said  Stanton 
to  him  one  day :  "  Mr.  President,  I  cannot  carry  out  that 
order.  It  is  improper,  and  I  don't  believe  it  right." 
And,  speaking  very  gently,  Mr.  Lincoln  said :  "  Well,  I 
reckon,  Mr.  Secretary,  that  you  will  have  to  carry  it 
out."  "But  I  won't  do  it,  Mr.  President;  it's  all 
wrong."  "I  guess  you  will  have  to  do  it,  Mr.  Secre- 
tary "  ;  and  it  was  done. 

In  the  quality  of  tact  Mr.  Lincoln  has  been  excelled  by 
no  man  who  ever  held  high  office  in  this  country.  Van 
Buren  was  tactful,  but  too  transparently  so  to  secure  the 
best  results.  Lincoln's  tact  was  so  subtle  and  masterful 
that  it  seldom  was  perceived,  and  never  realized  until  its 
purpose  had  been  accomplished.  But  it  was  the  pre-emi- 
nent quality  of  fathoming  public  opinion  —  which  he 
believed,  in  the  long  run,  always  to  be  right,  correcting 
itself  when  led  into  error  —  and  becoming  the  absolute 
servant  of  that  opinion,  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln's  claim  as 


KNOWLEDGE  OF  HUMAN  NATURE.  101 

a  public  servant  worthy  of  the  highest  honor  and  grati- 
tude rested.  We  see  now  that  he  was  waiting  for  public 
opinion  to  become  pre-eminent  before  he  indicated  his 
policy  with  respect  to  the  slaves.  He  revoked  Hunter's 
order  in  South  Carolina  and  "Fremont's  in  Missouri,  proc- 
lamations which  established  freedom  for  the  slaves  in 
those  military  districts ;  and  though  he  was  savagely 
rebuked  for  doing  so  by  Phillips  and  Garrison  and  the 
influential  public  men  who  espoused  immediate  emanci- 
pation, yet  it  was  because  Mr.  Lincoln  saw,  as  they  did 
not,  that  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  such  a  beneficent  act. 
He  waited  for  a  year ;  and  when  he  perceived  that  opinion 
would  sustain  him  then  he,  seeming  to  lead  it,  issued  his 
Emancipation  Proclamation ;  and  in  lesser  matters  he  was 
always  thus  guided.  He  erred  sometimes,  and  no  one 
saw  a  mistake  sooner  than  he  himself ;  but  it  was  a 
recent  Minister  to  Great  Britain  who  said  "  that  a  man 
who  made  no  mistakes  made  nothing."  Statesmen  have 
said  that  he  was  in  error  when  he  suggested,  in  the 
closing  months  of  his  first  administration,  that  Congress 
could  afford  to  appropriate  money  to  recompense  the  men 
of  the  South  for  the  loss  of  their  property,  if  by  such 
appropriation  the  War  could  be  brought  to  a  close.  But 
in  these  latter  days  we  are  not  sure  that  Mr.  Lincoln's 
view  had  not  more  wisdom  in  it  than  did  that  of  those 
in  Congress  who  opposed  him. 

New  York  City. 


AN  HOUR  WITH  PRESIDENT   LINCOLN. 

BY  FRANK  B.   CARPENTER, 

Author  of  "Six  Months  in  the  White  House." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  hand  was  on  the  bell  cord  of  his  office; 
Louis  Burgdorf,  the  Prussian  usher,  had  answered  his 
summons.  Taking  up  a  card,  he  said:  "I  will  see 
Colonel  Noteware,  of  Colorado,  and  his  friends." 

Leaning  back  in  his  chair  he  rested  his  head  upon  his 
hand,  with  an  expression  of  great  weariness.  His  eyes 
for  a  moment  wandered  to  the  distant  Virginia  horizon 
and  the  unfinished  Washington  monument  in  the  fore- 
ground. 

11  How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest," 

he  uttered  softly,  as  if  alone  with  his  thoughts.  "  How 
gladly  would  I  take  the  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  hum- 
blest soldier  that  sleeps  to-night  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac."  .  .  .  The  party  of  three  he  had  sent  for 
entered  —  a  Western  Senator,  a  Congressman  and  an  old 
Illinois  friend,  Colonel  Noteware.  Instantly,  by  one  of 
those  rapid  transitions,  characteristic  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
the  wan  and  tired  look  passed  away.  The  greeting  over, 
he  at  once  began  to  question  the  party  concerning  the 
recent  elections  in  their  States,  contrasting  the  figures 

102 


AN  HOUR   WITH  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  103 

given  with  those  of  former  years,  his  memory  of  election 
returns  being  extraordinary. 

This  discussion  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  Mr. 
Nicolay,  the  private  secretary  of  the  President.  He  held 
in  his  hand  a  telegram  from  Philadelphia  stating  that  a 
man  had  been  arrested  in  that  city  for  an  attempt  to  ob- 
tain fifteen  hundred  dollars  on  Mr.  Lincoln's  name. 
"What!"  said  the  President,  "fifteen  hundred  dollars 
upon  my  name !  I  have  given  no  one  authority  for  such 
a  draft;  and  if  I  had,"  he  added,  humorously,  "  it  is  sur- 
prising that  any  man  could  get  the  money ! "  After  a 
moment's  reflection,  Mr.  Nicolay  said  he  thought  he 
knew  the  accused  party.  "Do  you  remember,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, a  request  from  a  stranger  a  few  days  since  for 
your  autograph,  and  that  you  gave  it  to  him  upon  a  half 
sheet  of  note  paper?  The  scoundrel  doubtless  forged 
an  order  above  your  signature,  and  has  attempted  to 
swindle  somebody."  "Oh,  that's  the  trick,  is  it?"  said 
the  President.  "What  shall  be  done  with  him?"  in- 
quired Mr.  Nicolay.  "Have  you  any  orders  to  give?'; 
"Well,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  pausing  between  the  words, 
"  I  don't  see  but  that  he  will  have  to  sit  upon  the  blister- 
bench." 

A  paper  bearing  a  number  of  signatures  was  here  pre- 
sented to  the  President.  It  was  the  application  of 
Colonel  Noteware  for  an  official  position.  Taking  the 
document  in  his  hands,  Mr.  Lincoln  read  it  carefullj\ 
He  evidently  recognized  several  of  the  endorsements. 
Looking  up,  with  a  comical  expression,  he  said :  "  Colo- 
nel, your  friend  'B'  may  be  a  good  man,  a  very  good 
man;  but  he  does  not  know  how  to  spell  your  name." 
Taking  up  his  pen,  he  corrected  the  error.  "There," 
said  he,    "I  have,  by  a  species  of  forgery,  made  the 


104  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

wrong  right.  But  this  is  not  like  that  chap  in  Phila- 
delphia who  used  my  name  to  make  a  right  wrong ! " 
Folding  the  paper,  he  continued:  "ISToteware,  this  re- 
minds me  of  a  little  story.  You  know  General  S.,  don't 
you?  Well,  it  appears  from  positive  evidence  of  his 
friends,  certified  severally  before  me,  who  have  known 
him  during  the  whole  term  of  his  official  life,  that  he  is 
one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  old.  Now,  Colonel,  in 
footing  up  the  time  during  which  your  friends  certify  to 
having  known  you,  I  found  that  they  make  you  out  to 
be  precisely  the  same  age ! "  Here  Mr.  Lincoln  looked 
up  from  his  desk  into  Colonel  Noteware's  face,  with  an 
indescribably  droll  expression,  and  said:  "But  you  don't 
look  to  be  so  old  a  man  as  that,  Colonel." 

Referring  again  to  the  petition  before  him,  he  said: 
"'H,'  'H,'  'H,'—  who  is  <H'?"  Colonel  Noteware  re- 
plied that  he  was  a  prominent  Democrat  of  Illinois,  and 
lived  at  0.  "  Ah,"  said  the  President,  "I know  now  who 
he  is,  and  I  know  all  about  0.  I  was  there  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war." 

At  this  point  of  the  interview  the  Senator  who  accom- 
panied Colonel  Noteware  called  Mr.  Lincoln's  attention 
to  the  application  of  a  client  of  his  for  back  pay  for  cer- 
tain services  he  had  rendered,  which  the  President  evi- 
dently did  not  consider  just.  He  responded  with  another 
"little  story."  "Years  ago,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "when 
imprisonment  for  debt  was  legal  in  some  States,  a  poor 
fellow  was  sent  to  jail  by  his  creditor  and  compelled  to 
serve  out  his  debt  at  the  rate  of  a  dollar  and  a  half  per 
day.  Knowing  the  exact  amount  of  the  debt,  he  care- 
fully calculated  the  time  he  would  be  required  to  serve. 
When  the  sentence  had  expired  he  informed  his  jailer 
of  the  fact,  and  asked  to  be  released.     The  jailer  in- 


AN  HOUR   WITH  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  105 

sisted  upon  keeping  him  four  days  longer.  Upon  mak- 
ing up  his  statement,  however,  he  found  that  the  man 
was  right,  and  that  he  had  served  four  days  more  than 
his  sentence  required.  The  prisoner  then  demanded  not 
only  a  receipt  in  full  for  his  debt,  but  also  payment  for 
four  days'  extra  service,  amounting  to  six  dollars,  which 
he  declared  the  county  owed  him.  Now,"  said  Mr. 
Lincoln,  "  I  think  that  county  would  be  about  as  likely 
to  pay  the  claim  of  this  man  as  this  Government  will 
be  to  pay  the  claim  of  your  friend  for  back  pay."  To 
which  the  Senator  replied:  "I  am  very  much  of  your 
opinion,  Mr.  President." 

The  Hon.  Hugh  McCulloch,  the  Comptroller  of  the 
Currency,  was  announced,  with  a  delegation  of  bankers 
from  New  York.  The  President  had  resumed  his  seat 
at  the  desk  upon  the  departure  of  his  Western  visitors, 
and  was  busy  writing.  As  the  party  filed  into  the  room 
from  the  corridor,  Mr.  McCulloch  preceded  them,  and, 
leaning  over  Mr.  Lincoln's  desk,  said  in  a  low  voice : 
"  These  gentlemen  from  New  York  have  come  on  to  see 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  about  our  new  loan.  As 
bankers,  they  are  obliged  to  hold  our  national  securities. 
I  can  vouch  for  their  patriotism  and  loyalty,  for,  as  the 
good  Book  says,  'Where  the  treasure  is,  there  will  the 
heart  be  also. ' "  Mr.  Lincoln  looked  up  quickly,  with 
his  pen  in  hand,  and  said :  "  There  is  another  text,  Mr. 
McCulloch,  I  remember,  that  might  apply  equally  well : 
'Where  the  carcass  is,  there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered 
together.'  " 

An  incident  occurred  while  I  was  painting  the  picture 
of  the  Proclamation,  embracing  the  President  and  Cabi- 
net, at  the  White  House,  which  caused  a  hearty  laugh. 
It  was  the  witty  reply  of  Edward  McManus,  the  Irish 


106  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

porter,  who  had  served  through  every  administration 
from  the  inauguration  of  President  Polk  to  that  of  Lin- 
coln, with  whom  I  became  a  great  favorite  during  the 
six  months  of  my  occupancy  of  the  state  dining-room  as 
a  studio.  The  painting  of  the  President  and -Cabinet 
was  about  half  finished  when,  one  day,  a  gentleman 
called  and  asked  to  see  "Mr.  Carpenter."  Edward 
received  him  most  courteously,  as  was  his  manner. 
"Yes,"  he  said,  "we  have  a  'Carpenter'  here;  but  he 
has  been  promoted  by  the  President.  He  has  become  a 
'Cabinet'  maker! " 

Looking  over  a  volume  of  the  Congressional  Globe  for 
1848,  I  came  across  a  story  told  by  Mr.  Lincoln  which 
was  new  to  me,  as  I  presume  it  will  be  to  many  of  the 
readers  of  the  Independent.  It  occurs  in  a  speech  he 
made  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  July  27th,  1848, 
on  the  war  with  Mexico  and  the  candidacy  of  Gen.  Zach- 
ary  Taylor  for  the  Presidency,  on  the  part  of  the  Whigs, 
as  against  that  of  Gen.  Lewis  Cass,  the  Democratic 
candidate. 

The  entire  speech  is  most  characteristic  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln; but  I  will  quote  only  the  closing  paragraph,  the 
application  of  which  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  is  not 
limited  to  the  political  situation  existing  at  that  period : 

"Mr.  Speaker:  I  see  that  I  have  but  three  minutes  left,  and 
this  forces  me  to  throw  out  one  whole  branch  of  my  subject.  A 
single  word  on  still  another.  The  Democrats  are  kind  enough  to 
frequently  remind  us  that  we  have  some  dissensions  in  our  ranks. 
Our  good  friend  from  Baltimore  (Mr.  McLane)  expressed  some 
doubt  the  other  day  as  to  which  branch  of  our  party  General 
Taylor  would  ultimately  fall  into  the  hands  of.  That  was  a  new 
idea  to  me.  I  knew  we  had  dissenters,  but  I  did  not  know  they 
were  trying  to  get  our  candidate  away  from  us.  I  would  like  to 
say  a  word  to  our  dissenters,  but  I  have  not  the  time.     Some  such 


AN  HOUR    WITH  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  107 

we  certainly  have ;  have  you  none,  gentlemen  Democrats  ?  Is  it 
all  union  and  harmony  in  your  ranks  ?  No  bickerings  ?  No  divis- 
ions ?  If  there  be  doubt  as  to  which  of  our  divisions  will  get  our 
candidate,  is  there  no  doubt  as  to  which  of  your  candidates  will 
get  your  party  ?  I  have  heard  some  things  from  New  York  ;  and 
if  they  are  true  we  might  well  say  of  your  party  there,  as  a  drunken 
fellow  once  said  when  he  heard  the  reading  of  an  indictment  for 
hog  stealing.  The  clerk  read  on  till  he  got  to,  and  through  the 
words,  '  did  steal,  take  and  carry  away,  ten  boars,  ten  sows,  ten 
shoats  and  ten  pigs,'  at  which  he  exclaimed:  'Well,  by  golly, 
that  is  the  most  evenly  divided  gang  of  hogs  I  ever  did  hear  of. ' 
If  there  is  any  gang  of  hogs  more  evenly  divided  than  the  Demo- 
crats of  New  York  are  about  this  time,  I  have  not  heard  of  it." 
New  York  City. 


REMINISCENCES   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

LINCOLN S  RECEPTION   TO    TOM    THUMB  — HIS  FAVOR- 
ITE BOOKS  OF  HUMOR  — IN  HIS  COFFIN. 

BY  GRACE  GREENWOOD. 

My  actual  acquaintance  with  President  Lincoln  was 
slight,  but  the  place  it  fills  in  my  memory  seems  great, 
and  is  a  very  sacred  one.  During  a  visit  to  Washington, 
in  late  war  time,  I  received  an  informal  invitation  to  a 
reception  extraordinaire  at  the  White  House.  It  was  to 
meet  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Stratton  —  "  General  Tom 
Thumb"  —  and  his  wife,  Lavinia,  then  on  their  bridal 
tour.  I  suppose  that  Mr.  Barnum,  a  good  loyal  Repub- 
lican, had  solicited  an  audience  for  his  then  most  famous, 
comely  and  comme  ilfaut  human  curiosities,  and  that  the 
President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  with  an  amiable  desire  to 
share  a  novel  little  entertainment  with  their  friends,  had 
sent  out  a  limited  number  of  invitations.  I  think  Mr. 
Lincoln's  quick  sense  of  fitness  led  him  to  pass  over  all 
members  of  their  circle,  so  stiffened  by  social  starch  or 
official  solemnity  as  to  be  likely  to  find  the  occasion 
infra  dig.,  and  so,  unenjoyable. 

I  was  presented  to  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  by 
Mr.  Lovejoy,  and  was  made  very  happy  and  a  little 
proud  by  being  received  by  them  as  already  "  a  friend, " 
having  become  known  to  them  in  their  home  in  Spring- 
field through  my  work  in  magazines   and  newspapers  — 

108 


REMINISCENCES   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.         109 

especially  the  National  Era,  the  Independent,  and  my 
own  publication,  the  Little  Pilgrim;  so  I  felt  at  home 
speedily. 

Yet  Mr.  Lincoln,  before  I  heard  his  sweet-toned  voice, 
and  saw  his  singularly  sympathetic  smile,  was  certainly 
an  awesome  personage  to  me.  So  tall,  gaunt  and  angu- 
lar was  his  figure  —  so  beyond  all  question,  plain,  was 
his  face,  furrowed  and  harrowed  by  unexampled  cares 
and  infinite  perplexities,  while  over  all  was  a  simple 
dignity  which  was  more  than  sacerdotal  —  a  peculiar, 
set-apart  look,  which  I  have  never  seen  in  any  other 
man,  never  shall  see. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  dress  was  sombre  black,  unrelieved  ex- 
cept by  gloves  of  white  or  very  light  kid,  which  had  a 
rather  ghastly  effect  on  his  large,  bony  hands.  But  Mrs. 
Lincoln  was  gay  enough  in  attire  —  a  low-necked  gown 
of  rich  pink  silk,  with  flounces  climbing  high  up,  over  a 
hoop-skirt  trellis,  and  pink  roses  in  her  hair.  She  was 
not  handsome,  but  her  manner  was  pleasant  and  kindly. 
She  must  have  had  a  good  heart,  after  all  said,  for  her 
husband  loved  her.  She  must  have  had  a  more  than 
ordinary  intelligence,  for  Charles  Sumner  respected  her 
opinions,  and  he  knew  her  well.  She  certainly  lacked 
worldly  wisdom,  tact  and  judgment  —  fatal  lackings  in 
her  case.  The  dizzy  elevation  of  her  storm-rocked  posi- 
tion, and  its  perils,  unsettled  her  brain  in  effect,  and  the 
tragedy  which  shook  the  world,  cast  her  "  quite,  quite 
down."  Most  desolate  and  misunderstood  of  women 
was  she  at  the  last. 

Of  the  President's  household  present  that  evening,  I 
remember  two  young  men,  who  I  thought  ought  to  make 
careers  for  themselves,  not  alone  because  they  looked 
clever,  thoughtful  and  scholarly,  but  because  their  daily 


110  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

association  with  Abraham  Lincoln  must  be  a  liberal 
education  in  noble  ideas  and  aims,  in  manliness  and 
mansuetude.  These  young  gentlemen  were  the  Presi- 
dent's son,  Robert,  and  his  secretary,  John  Hay. 

Rather  to  my  surprise  the  high-toned  and  austere 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Chase,  was  one  of  the 
guests,  coming  in  early,  as  though  in  boyish  haste  to  see 
the  show.  He  was  then  but  little  past  his  prime,  and  a 
superb  looking  man.  With  him  was  his  darling  daugh- 
ter, Kate  —  "  the  prettiest  Kate  in  Christendom  "  —  tall, 
graceful,  her  small  Greek  head  borne  royally,  her  lovely, 
piquant  face  untouched  by  care  or  sorrow,  her  exquisite 
dark  eyes  with  their  heavily  fringed  lids,  full  of  a  cer- 
tain entangling  charm. 

Secretary  Stanton  was  not  there,  to  my  disappointment, 
as  in  our  younger  days  we  had  been  familiar  friends. 
Doubtless  he  thought  this  occasion  a  bit  of  fooling, 
unsuited  to  this  most  critical  and  sorrowful  time  of 
the  imperilled  Republic,  when  "men  must  work,  and 
women  must  weep,"  their  hardest  and  bitterest.  He 
always  was  awfully  in  earnest.  A  pun  once  nearly  cost 
me  his  friendship,  and  it  was  a  good  pun,  too. 

That  night  I  first  saw  General  Butler.  It  appears  to 
me  that  he  never  changed  much  in  all  the  years  that  fol- 
lowed till  he  died,  in  the  house  next  to  this  —  only  yes- 
terday, it  seems.  A  little  heavier  grew  that  powerful 
face,  a  little  less  arrogant  and  audacious  in  expression, 
a  little  balder  became  that  masterful,  low,  broad  head 
without  any  "  bump  "  of  veneration,  till  in  his  coffin  it 
looked  like  an  antique  bust  of  an  old  Roman  emperor  of 
the  Augustan  line  —  hard,  but  grand. 

As  was  natural,  perhaps,  the  autocrat  of  New  Orleans 
had  little   sympathy  with  the   quaint   Commander-in- 


REMINISCENCES  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Ill 

Chief,  whose  big,  soft  heart  so  often  played  the  mischief 
with  military  discipline  through  a  flagrant  exercise  of 
the  pardoning  power;  but  he  had  to  respect  the  moral 
steadfastness  and  purity  of  the  man. 

The  reception  took  place  in  the  East  room ;  and  when, 
following  the  loud  announcement,  "  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles 
Stratton, "  the  guests  of  honor  entered  from  the  corridor, 
and  walked  slowly  up  the  long  salon,  to  where  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lincoln  stood,  to  welcome  them,  the  scene  became 
interesting,  though  a  little  bizarre.  The  pigmy  "Gen- 
eral," at  that  time  still  rather  good-looking,  though 
slightly  blase,  wore  his  elegant  wedding  suit,  and  his 
wife,  a  plump  but  symmetrical  little  woman,  with  a 
bright,  intelligent  face,  her  wedding  dress  —  the  regula- 
tion white  satin,  with  point  lace,  orange  blossoms  and 
pearls  —  while  a  train  some  two  yards  long  swept  out 
behind  her.  I  well  remember  the  "pigeon-like  stateli- 
ness  "  with  which  they  advanced,  almost  to  the  feet  of 
the  President,  and  the  profound  respect  with  which  they 
looked  up,  up,  to  his  kindly  face.  It  was  pleasant  to 
see  their  tall  host  bend,  and  bend,  to  take  their  little 
hands  in  his  great  palm,  holding  Madame 's  with  especial 
chariness,  as  though  it  were  a  robin's  egg,  and  he  were 
fearful  of  breaking  it.  Yet  he  did  not  talk  down  to 
them,  but  made  them  feel  from  the  first  as  though  he 
regarded  them  as  real  "folks,"  sensible,  and  knowing  a 
good  deal  of  the  world.  He  presented  them,  very  cour- 
teously and  soberly,  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  in  his  compli- 
ments and  congratulations  there  was  not  the  slightest 
touch  of  the  exaggeration  which  a  lesser  man  might 
have  been  tempted  to  make  use  of,  for  the  quiet  amuse- 
ment of  on-lookers;  in  fact,  notliing  to  reveal  to  that 
shrewd  little  pair  his  keen  sense  of  the  incongruity  of 


112  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  scene.  He  was,  I  think,  most  amused  by  the 
interest  and  curiosity  of  his  "little  Tad,"  who  seemed 
disposed  to  patronize  the  diminutive  gentleman  and 
lady,  grown  up  and  married,  yet  lacking  his  lordly 
inches.  When  refreshments  were  being  served,  he 
graciously  superintended  his  mother's  kindly  arrange- 
ments, by  which  the  distinguished  little  folk  were  able 
to  take  their  cake,  wine  and  ices  comfortably,  off  a 
chair. 

Later,  while  the  bride  and  groom  were  taking  a  quiet 
promenade  by  themselves  up  and  down  the  big  drawing- 
room,  I  noticed  the  President  gazing  after  them  with  a 
smile  of  quaint  humor;  but,  in  his  beautiful,  sorrow- 
shadowed  eyes,  there  was  something  more  than  amuse- 
ment—  a  gentle,  human  sympathy  in  the  apparent 
happiness  and  good-fellowship  of  this  curious  wedded 
pair  —  come  to  him  out  of  fairyland. 

After  they  were  gone  I  had  my  little  talk  with,  or 
rather  from,  Mr.  Lincoln;  for,  naturally,  I  said  but 
little  during  those  golden  moments.  He  was  in  one  of 
his  most  genial  moods;  and  judging,  perhaps,  from  my 
newspaper  connections  that  I  was  not  a  fool,  he  even 
favored  me  with  a  few  of  his  "  little  stories, "  which  he 
told  very  simply  and  tersely,  yet  with  inimitable  droll- 
ery. As  was  characteristic  of  him,  he  evidently  was 
most  amused  by  one  wherein  the  joke  was  against  him- 
self. As  I  recall  it,  the  story  ran  that  a  certain  honest 
old  farmer,  visiting  the  capital  for  the  first  time,  was 
taken  by  the  member  from  his  "  deestrick  "  to  some  large 
gathering  or  entertainment,  at  which  he  was  told  he  could 
see  the  President.  Unfortunately,  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not 
appear;  and  the  Congressman,  being  a  bit  of  a  wag  and 
not  liking  to  have  his  constituent  disappointed,  pointed 


REMINISCENCES  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.         113 

out  Mr.  R.,  of  Minnesota,  a  gentleman  of  a  particularly 
round  and  rubicund  countenance;  the  worthy  farmer, 
greatly  astonished,  exclaimed:  "Is  that  Old  Abe? 
Well,  I  du  declare!  He's  a  better-lookin'  man  than 
I  expected  to  see;  but  it  does  seem  as  if  his  troubles 
had  driven  him  to  drink." 

After  this  evening  I  only  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  at  two  of 
his  public  receptions,  when  the  people  —  or  torrent  of 
humanity  —  surged  into  the  White  House,  and  swept 
past  him,  every  soul-wave  mirroring  clear  his  pale, 
patient  face,  and  taking  a  glint  from  his  kindly  eyes. 
Each  time  I  was  made  happy  by  an  instant  and  smiling 
recognition  and  a  few  words  of  special  welcome. 

To  pass  into  the  presence,  as  one  of  a  great  crowd, 
even,  was  to  receive  from  Mr.  Lincoln  a  real,  honest, 
hearty  handshake,  which  you  felt  to  the  tips  of  your 
toes.  Nowadays  the  official  fashion  is  less  neighborly 
and  more  perfunctory.  The  great  man  touches  your 
fingers  an  instant,  while  looking  over  your  shoulder  for 
the  next  comer,  or  clutches  your  hand  any  way,  pulls 
you  forward  and  passes  you  on.  You  think  he  has  said 
a  word  or  two,  but  you  are  not  quite  sure. 

Every  moment  that  I  found  it  possible  on  those  occa- 
sions to  linger  near  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  spent  in  studying  the 
face  of  the  man  on  whose  single  life  hung  the  destinies 
of  a  country  and  the  redemption  of  a  race.  It  was 
always  the  same  impression.  Under  the  pleasantest 
light  of  his  eyes,  I  divined  a  depth  of  melancholy 
unfathomable. 

Yet  I  recognized  then,  almost  as  clearly  as  I  do  now, 
the  "  saving  grace "  of  those  gifts  of  imagination  and 
humor,  which  gave  him  temporary  "surcease  from  sor- 
row," and  the  soul- weariness  of  helpless  pity,  through 
i 


114  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

poetry,  the  drama,  and  those  droll  "little  stories,"  so 
often  wisdom  in  homely  disguise  —  parables  of  subtle 
significance.  It  takes  nothing  from  my  respect  for  him, 
as  a  hero  and  a  Christian,  to  know  that  he  kept  on  the 
stand  by  the  side  of  his  bed,  volumes  of  his  favorite 
humorists.  When,  in  the  dreary  watches  of  the  night, 
the  bitter  waters  of  his  "  sea  of  troubles  "  were  rising  to 
his  lips,  I  doubt  not  he  found  the  buoyant  wit  of  "  Pick- 
wick "  more  potent  to  bear  him  up  than  the  bat-wings  of 
Young's  "Night  Thoughts."  Doubtless  there  was  for 
him  more  heart-lightenings  in  Artemus  Ward  than  in 
Isaac  Watts ;  and  he  may  have  found  in  the  homely  diet 
of  Hosea  Biglow  more  stimulating  mental  aliment  than 
in  all  the  philosophy  of  Athens  or  Concord.  I  believe 
that  one  good,  hearty  laugh  did  him  more  good  than 
any  number  of  those  recitations  of  "  0  Why  should  the 
Spirit  of  Mortal  be  Proud?"  he  was  addicted  to  in  his 
low  and  sentimental  moods. 

Not  till  that  woful  time  when  a  tidal  wave  of  national 
mourning  swept  across  the  continent,  did  I  look  again  on 
the  face  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  was  at  Philadelphia 
—  one  of  the  stations  in  the  great  funeral  progress. 
He  lay  in  state,  in  Independence  Hall,  where  one  could 
almost  believe  that  he  had  a  double  guard  of  honor,  one 
invisible  to  us  —  the  august  shades  of  men  whose  patri- 
otic act  made  that  chamber  glorious  forever. 

Accorded  a  private  view,  I  was  able  to  remain  as  long 
as  I  could  bear  to  stay  beside  the  casket,  gazing  down  on 
what  seemed  to  me  a  dread  simulacrum  of  the  face  of 
our  great  friend  —  so  unlike  was  it,  though  so  like.  The 
color  was  not  the  pallor  I  remembered,  but  a  sort  of 
ashen  gray;  the  mouth  looked  stern,  and  then,  the  total 
eclipse  of  those  benignant  eyes!     People  said  the  face 


REMINISCENCES  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  115 

was  "peaceful";  but  it  was  an  awful  peace,  there  re- 
mained such  touching  shadows  of  mortal  sorrow,  struggle 
and  strain.  It  was  as  though  the  soul,  sunk  deep 
beyond  deep  in  God's  rest,  had  left  in  its  garment  of 
flesh  the  perfect  mould  of  its  mortal  cares,  its  piteous 
yearnings,  its  unspeakable  weariness. 

I  have  always  pitied  those  who  have  only  such  recol- 
lections of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  have  been  fervently 
thankful  that  while  he  yet  lived  I  looked  on  that  now 
historic  figure  and  found  it  heroic  in  its  grand  ungainli- 
ness ;  on  that  worn  and  rugged  face,  and  found  it  both  lov- 
able and  impressive ;  that  my  hand  has  been  grasped,  in 
greeting  and  farewell,  by  the  hand  that  performed  the 
grandest  work  of  the  century;  that  my  eyes  have  gazed 
full  into  those  sad,  prophetic  eyes,  whose  tired  lids  were 
pressed  down  at  last  by  the  long-prayed-for  Angel  of 
Peace. 

And  I  am  thankful  that  it  was  my  privilege  to  know 
some  of  his  greatest  generals,  and  those  splendid  aids  of 
his,  the  "  war  governors  "  of  the  North  and  West,  and 
also  the  faithful  statesmen  and  patriots,  who  here  at 
the  Capital  "  upheld  his  hands  "  —  Stanton,  Chase  and 
Seward,  Henry  Wilson,  Hannibal  Hamlin,  Thaddeus 
Stevens,  Joseph  Holt,  all  gone  —  the  type  gone ! 

—  uO,  woe  is  me, 
,  To  have  seen  what  I  have  seen  —  see  what  I  see  1 " 

Washington,  March  19th,  1895. 


LINCOLN  AS  A   STOKY-TELLER. 

BY  GEN.  EGBERT  L.  VIELE. 

President  Lincoln  was  sometimes  criticised  for  the 
stories  he  used  to  tell.  The  broadness  of  these  stories, 
it  may  be  said,  came  from  the  atmosphere  of  the  West- 
ern country,  where  it  was  necessary  to  give  a  little 
spice  to  an  anecdote  in  order  to  attract  attention.  Mr. 
Lincoln  always  used  with  great  effect  any  anecdote 
which  he  possessed  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  and 
exemplifying  a  higher  form  of  argument  and  impressing 
a  fact  upon  the  minds  of  his  hearers. 

Few  people  understand  precisely  the  condition  of 
Western  life.  They  are  crude  and  rude,  though  fast 
becoming  otherwise.  In  Lincoln's  time  it  was  the  life 
of  the  pioneer  that  is  struggling  with  nature;  and  while 
people  were  working  to  obtain  the  food  necessary  for 
their  absolute  existence,  there  was  little  time  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  graces  and  for  the  refinement  of 
the  intellect.  So  we  must  look  at  that  country  from 
the  point  of  view  of  development. 

In  a  broad  sense  American  civilization  is  divided  into 
three  distinct  lines.  There  is  the  civilization  of  the 
Atlantic  coast,  the  earliest  civilization,  which  was  simply 
a  reflex  of  European  civilization.  The  tone  and  charac- 
ter of  public  affairs  came  from  men  who  were  familiar 
with  public  affairs  in   Europe,   and  had  a  knowledge 

116 


LINCOLN  AS  A  STORY-TELLER.  117 

of  and  an  acquaintance  with  many  of  the  statesmen  of 
Europe. 

The  civilization  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  is  dis- 
tinct from  this.  It  is  purely  an  American  civilization. 
The  people  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  thought  little 
and  cared  less  for  the  settlers  on  the  Atlantic  or  for  the 
European  nations.  They  lived  in  a  world  of  their  own, 
a  vast,  productive  region,  the  most  remarkable  of  its  kind 
on  this  continent. 

The  civilization  of  the  Pacific  slope  was  that  of  advent- 
urers of  all  kinds,  tinged  with  the  characteristics  of  the 
Mexican  and  the  vices  of  the  Mongolian  who  became 
mixed  with  it.  So  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  three 
distinct  forms  of  life  to  be  mingled  together  in  the  future 
of  American  civilization. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  product  of  the  pure  Ameri- 
can civilization,  just  as  Grant  was,  just  as  Sherman  was. 
The  valley  of  the  Mississippi  has  given  us  a  large  num- 
ber of  great  —  marvellously  great  —  men ;  great  in  intel- 
lect and  great  in  stature.  In  fact,  the  State  of  Kentucky 
alone  has  furnished  us  with  a  large  complement  of  great 
men  capable  of  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  country 
for  a  country  if  there  were  no  other  men  competent  to 
do  so. 

Kentucky  is,  physically,  the  Greece  of  America,  just 
as  the  Hellenic  Peninsula  is  the  Greece  of  Europe ;  and 
from  that  State  we  have  received  already  a  vast  amount 
of  intellectual  and  physical  development  superior,  in 
many  respects,  to  that  which  has  come  from  any  other 
part  of  the  country.  During  the  Civil  War  there  was  a 
measurement  made  of  the  heads  and  bodies  of  the  soldiers 
from  the  different  sections  of  the  country,  and  it  was 
found  that  the  Kentucky  soldiers  were  larger  in  bone 


118  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  brain,  better,  physically  and  mentally,  than  the  sol- 
diers from  any  other  section  of  the  country. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  in  Kentucky,  and  he  is  of 
that  breed. 

My  intimacy  with  him  began  on  my  arrival  in  Wash- 
ington with  the  steamship  "Daylight,"  and  a  body  of 
armed  volunteers  that  had  answered  the  first  call  of  the 
President  for  troops,  and  had  opened  the  passage  of  the 
Potomac  River  to  the  Capital,  being  the  first  vessel,  with 
troops,  to  arrive  for  the  defence  of  the  Capital  by  way  of 
that  river.  Lincoln  came  down  with  Secretary  Seward 
from  the  White  House  in  a  terrific  downpour  of  rain  and 
welcomed  us  on  the  wharf.  Four  of  the  men  held  a  piece 
of  tarpaulin  over  his  head,  one  at  each  corner,  and  he 
held  a  reception  there,  shaking  hands  with  every  one, 
including  the  stokers  from  the  engine-room,  grasping 
their  coal-black  hands  and  exclaiming  that  they  were  as 
brave  as  any  of  us. 

From  that  time  until  Mr.  Lincoln's  death  I  enjoyed  the 
very  closest  intimacy  with  him.  On  one  occasion  he  in- 
vited me  to  accompany  him,  the  Secretary  of  War  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  a  revenue  cutter  from 
Washington  to  Fortress  Monroe.  There  was  a  small 
cabin  in  the  boat  divided  by  four  partitions.  During  the 
period  of  eight  or  ten  days  we  were  together  we  never 
lost  sight  of  each  other.  During  the  trip  we  were  con- 
stantly engaged  in  conversation  and  discussion  about  war 
matters,  much  of  the  time  being  occupied  in  listening  to 
Mr.  Lincoln's  wonderful  fund  of  reminiscence  and  anec- 
dote. If  I  had  been  a  stenographer  it  seems  to  me  that  I 
could  have  filled  a  large  volume  made  up  of  these  remark- 
able stories,  each  and  every  one  of  them  having  aptness 
to  the  point  under  discussion.     Of  course  I  could  not 


LINCOLN  AS  A  STORY-TELLER.  119 

remember  all  of  them.  I  remember  many  of  them. 
Some  of  them  it  would  hardly  be  right  to  print. 

Some  simple  remark  that  some  of  the  party  might 
make  would  remind  Mr.  Lincoln,  of  an  apropos  story. 
Mr.  Chase  happened  to  remark,  "  Oh,  I  am  so  sorry  that 
I  had  to  write  a  letter  to  Mr.  So-and-So  before  I  left 
home."  Mr.  Lincoln  promptly  responded :  "  Chase,  never 
regret  what  you  don't  write ;  it  is  what  you  do  write  that 
you  are  often  called  upon  to  feel  sorry  for." 

Here  is  another :  Mr.  Stanton  said  that  just  before  he 
left  Washington  he  had  received  a  telegram  from  General 
Mitchell,  in  Alabama,  asking  instructions  in  regard  to  a 
certain  emergency  that  had  occurred.  The  secretary  said 
that  he  did  not  precisely  understand  the  emergency  as 
explained  by  General  Mitchell,  but  he  had  answered  back, 
"All  right;  go  ahead."  "Now,"  he  said,  "Mr.  Presi- 
dent, if  I  have  made  an  error  in  not  understanding  him 
correctly,  I  will  have  to  get  you  to  countermand  the 
order."  "  Well,"  exclaimed  Lincoln,  "  that  is  very  much 
like  the  occasion  of  a  certain  horse  sale  I  remember  that 
took  place  at  the  cross  roads  down  in  Kentucky  when  I 
was  a  boy.  A  particularly  fine  horse  was  to  be  sold,  and 
the  people  gathered  together.  They  had  a  small  boy  to 
ride  the  horse  up  and  down  while  the  spectators  examined 
the  horse's  points.  At  last  one  man  whispered  to  the 
boy  as  he  went  by:  'Look  here,  boy,  hain't  that  horse 
got  the  splints?'  The  boy  replied:  ' Mister,  I  don't 
know  what  the  splints  is ;  but  if  it  is  good  for  him 
he  has  got  it,  if  it  ain't  good  for  him  he  ain't  got  it.' 
Now,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  if  this  was  good  for  Mitchell 
it  was  all  right :  but  if  it  was  not  I  have  got  to  counter- 
mand it." 

I  had  the  entree  to  the  White  House.    Though  Senators, 


120  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Congressmen  and  diplomats  were  kept  waiting,  I  was  al- 
ways admitted.  On  one  occasion  I  had  to  go  to  the  White 
House  in  company  with  a  member  of  Congress  to  look 
after  the  interests  of  one  of  my  old  soldiers  who  was  also 
a  constitutent  of  this  member  of  Congress.  When  we 
reached  the  Capitol  the  Congressman  said :  "  Yon  know 
that  the  President  always  admits  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives  before  he  admits  others ;  therefore,  I  will  put 
your  name  on  my  card  and  you  will  not  be  detained; 
you  will  have  an  opportunity  of  going  right  in."  So  we 
entered  the  Capitol  and  the  Congressman  got  out  his 
card,  put  my  name  on  it  above  his  own,  and  sent  it  in. 
In  a  moment  or  two  the  messenger  came  back  and  cried 
out  (misapprehending  my  name),  "  General  Weal."  A  by- 
stander remarked,  "  The  President  has  been  listening  to 
General  Woe  so  long,  it  is  no  wonder  he  wants  General 
Weal  in  a  hurry."  So  I  left  the  Congressman  cooling 
his  heels  in  the  anteroom  and  went  in.  He  said :  "  Well, 
Viele,  what  can  I  do  for  you  ? '  I  replied :  "  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, I  came  with  Mr.  Eudford  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, in  behalf  of  a  constituent  of  his  and  an  old 
soldier  of  mine.  Here  is  an  application  which  "  —  He 
said:  "Write  it  down  on  the  outside."  So  I  put  the 
regular  endorsement  on  the  back  of  the  application  — 
the  name,  position,  nature  of  the  business,  etc.,  and 
carried  it  back  to  the  President.  "  Oh  no ! "  he  ex- 
claimed, "what  I  want  you  to  do  is  to  write  what  you 
want  me  to  sign."  So  I  wrote :  "  The  Adjutant-G-eneral 
will  comply  with  the  request  of  Captain  Egan,"  etc.,  and 
the  President  signed  "A.  Lincoln."  This  simply  illus- 
trates the  confidence  he  had  in  his  friends. 

On  another  occasion  I  had  some  very  important  paper 
to  show  him.     As  I  entered  the  room  Secretary  Seward 


LINCOLN  AS  A  STORY-TELLER.  121 

came  in  with  some  important  dispatches  and  took  his 
seat  alongside  the  President  just  as  I  had  handed  him 
the  paper  I  wanted  him  to  look  at.  Secretary  Seward, 
with  an  air  of  impatience,  took  it  out  of  the  President's 
hand  and  handed  it  back  to  me,  saying,  "  Some  other 
time;  I  have  important  business  with  the  President." 
Mr.  Lincoln  said :  "  Not  so  fast,  Seward,"  taking  back  the 
document  from  him;  "I  want  to  hear  what  Viele  has  to 
say  about  this  matter." 

I  give  these  stories  to  illustrate  the  strong  affection  he 
had  for  his  friends.  He  said  to  me  once :  "  If  I  have 
got  one  vice  it  is  not  being  able  to  say  '  no.'  And  I  con- 
sider it  a  vice.  Thank  God  for  not  making  me  a  woman. 
I  presume  if  he  had  he  would  have  made  me  just  as  ugly 
as  I  am  and  nobody  would  have  ever  tempted  me." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  man  of  the  highest  degree  of  self- 
culture,  in  so  far  as  regards  a  knowledge  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  sublime  writings  in  the  English  language. 
His  memory  was  photographic  in  character.  He  could 
repeat  from  memory  almost  any  passage  after  he  had 
read  it  once,  and  nothing  delighted  him  so  much  as  to 
sit  down  of  an  evening  among  his  immediate  friends  and 
repeat  whole  stanzas  from  Byron  or  Browning  or  the 
plays  of  Shakespeare.  Most  of  the  grand  and  sublime 
passages  in  literature  were  familiar  to  him.   • 

And  yet,  so  strong  was  his  sense  of  humor  that  no 
ridiculous  event  or  situation  ever  escaped  his  notice. 
One  day  on  board  ship  I  showed  him  in  Harper1  s  Weekly 
a  funny  little  piece  of  rhyme  which  was  amusing  on 
account  of  the  absurd  use  of  words,  such  as  "  they  sat 
side  by  side,  and  she  sighed  and  he  sighed,"  and  so  it 
went  on  in  the  same  strain.  This  verse  captured  the 
President  so  completely  that  he  sat  down  and  sprawled 


122  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

himself  out  on  the  deck,  and  said :  "  Viele,  lend  me  your 
penknife."  I  opened  the  knife  and  handed  it  to  him, 
and  he  began  to  cut  the  piece  from  the  paper.  Just  in 
the  midst  of  this  employment  he  looked  up  from  his 
rather  ungraceful  attitude,  and  said :  "  Not  a  very  digni- 
fied position  for  the  President  of  the  United  states,  but 
eminently  convenient  for  the  purpose !  " 

I  have  always  protested  against  the  constant  assertion 
as  to  the  early  life  of  the  President  that  he  was  a  flat- 
boatman.  He  was  not,  by  occupation.  Everybody  had 
more  or  less  to  do  with  flatboats  on  the  Western  rivers 
fifty  years  ago.  But  the  flatboatman  proper,  engaged  in 
it  as  an  occupation,  was  generally  a  man  of  very  low 
instincts.  In  this  sense  Lincoln  was  never  a  flatboat- 
man, although  on  one  or  two  occasions  he  may  have  had 
something  to  do  with  a  trip  on  a  flatboat ;  as,  for  instance, 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  when  a  friend  started  with  a  boat- 
load of  stores  for  New  Orleans,  and  invited  Lincoln  to 
join  him,  an  invitation  which  he  accepted. 

So,  too,  with  regard  to  his  rail-splitting.  After  his 
father  had  married  his  second  wife,  he  removed  to  a  spot 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Sangamon  River,  ten  miles  west 
of  Decatur,  111.  On  this  occasion  Abraham  assisted  in 
erecting  a  new  home,  and  split  the  rails  for  the  fence, 
an  incident  which  was  used  in  his  canvass  for  the  Presi- 
dency. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  remembered  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  a  man  of  immense  physique.  During  his 
lifetime  he  was  probably  as  strong  a  man  as  you  could 
find.  The  muscles  of  his  body  were  like  iron.  He 
could  take  a  heavy  axe  and,  grasping  it  with  his  thumb 
and  forefingers  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  handle,  hold  it 
out  on  a  horizontal  line  from  his  body.     On  board  ship  I 


LINCOLN  AS  A  STORY-TELLER.  123 

have  never  seen  a  man  who  could  perform  this  feat. 
Any  man  who  will  attempt  to  do  it  will  see  how  difficult 
it  is.  He  once  said  to  me :  "  When  I  was  eighteen  years 
of  age  I  could  do  this,  and  I  have  never  seen  the  day 
since  that  I  could  not  do  it."  He  used  to  take  great 
satisfaction  in  performing  this  feat  before  the  strong 
sailors,  and  smile  at  their  unsuccessful  efforts  to  im- 
itate it. 

With  Mr.  Lincoln's  great  physical  strength  the  labor 
of  splitting  rails  was  a  mere  amusement.  It  was  not 
work;  it  was  a  kind  of  outlet  for  his  surplus  energy. 
Members  of  athletic  associations  devote  a  large  portion 
of  their  time  and  spend  considerable  money  simply  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  their  muscles  in  shape.  In  the 
same  way  with  Lincoln,  rail-splitting  was  never  gross 
labor  to  him,  though  it  would  have  been  to  an  ordinary 
man.  He  regarded  it  as  little  more  than  pastime  to  keep 
his  muscles  in  play. 

When  I  was  Military  Governor  of  Norfolk,  Lincoln 
wrote  his  famous  Proclamation  of  Emancipation.  In 
that  Proclamation  he  omitted  all  the  loyal  States,  and  all 
portions  of  other  States  that  were  occupied  by  United 
States  troops  and  not  under  the  dominion  of  the  rebels. 

On  the  first  of  January,  the  day  set  for  the  Proclama- 
tion to  go  into  effect,  I  received  a  procession  of  five  thou- 
sand Negroes  in  Norfolk  who  came  to  my  home  to  wish 
me  a  happy  New  Year,  and  congratulate  themselves  on 
the  fact  that  they  had  the  rights  of  freedom.  I  did  not 
dare  tell  them  that  the  Proclamation  did  not  apply  to 
them,  but  I  went  to  Washington  and  talked  the  matter 
over  with  Secretary  Chase.  He  advised  me  to  see  the 
President,  and,  for  fear  the  President  might  be  engaged 
in  some  way,  he  asked  me  to  take  a  note  to  him,  and  he 


124  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

would  then  see  me  at  once.  So  I  went  over  and  saw 
him  and  told  him  of  my  experience  with  the  five  thou- 
sand Negroes.  He  said :  "  This  is  the  difficulty ;  we  want 
to  keep  all  that  we  have  of  the  border  States  —  those 
that  have  not  seceded  and  the  portions  of  those  which 
we  have  occupied.  And,  in  order  to  do  that,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  omit  those  areas  I  have  mentioned  from  the 
effect  of  this  Proclamation."  The  idea  was  to  keep  the 
border  States  where  the  War  was  going  on  for  fear  we 
might  excite  them  by  the  thought  of  losing  slavery,  as 
we  had  not  come  to  that  issue  yet. 

Subsequently,  I  had  occasion  to  complain  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  what  I  thought  was  the  injurious  action  of  one  of 
the  Governors  of  the  loyal  States  where  I  had  a  command. 
"  Well,  now,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln ;  "  you  remember  what 
I  told  you  about  the  border  States.  The  same  thing 
applies  to  the  Governors  of  the  loyal  States.  We  cannot 
afford  to  quarrel  with  them  about  collateral  issues.  We 
want  their  soldiers." 

One  day  I  went  to  see  Lincoln.  He  was  being  shaved. 
The  Negro  barber  had  just  covered  him  with  an  immense 
coat  of  lather.  He  had  sent  word  for  me  to  come  right 
in.  He  said :  "  I  hope  I  don't  scare  you ;  I  look  frightful 
enough  by  nature  without  the  addition  of  this  lather." 

On  another  occasion,  sitting  before  his  desk  in  his 
office,  he  quaintly  remarked :  "  I  wish  George  Washing- 
ton or  some  of  those  old  patriots  were  here  in  my  place 
so  that  I  could  have  a  little  iest." 

New  York  City. 


LINCOLN  —  AFTER  THIETY  YEAES. 

BY  THEODORE  L.  CUYLER,    D.D. 

"When  I  have  had  to  address  a  fagged  and  listless 
audience,  I  have  found  that  nothing  was  so  certain  to 
arouse  them  as  to  introduce  the  name  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln." So  remarked  Dr.  Newman  Hall,  of  London,  to 
me  last  year ;  and  I  have  had  a  similar  experience  with 
American  audiences.  No  other  name  has  such  electric 
power  on  every  true  heart  from  Maine  to  Mexico.  If 
Washington  is  the  most  revered,  Lincoln  is  the  best-loved 
man  that  ever  trod  this  continent. 

The  thirtieth  anniversary  of  his  martyrdom  stirs 
afresh  the  fount  of  memory  and  of  tears  in  my  own 
heart.  On  that  fatal  fourteenth  of  April,  1865,  I  was 
present  at  the  glorious  restoration  of  the  old  flag  in  Fort 
Sumter ;  and,  after  the  halyard  had  passed  through  the 
hands  of  General  Anderson,  I  was  glad  to  get  hold  of 
it,  in  company  with  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  George 
Thompson,  of  England,  and  several  others,  and  help  pull 
"  Old  Glory  "  up  to  the  flagstaff  peak.  The  next  morn- 
ing I  addressed  a  thousand  Negro  children;  and  when 
I  said  to  them,  "  Shall  we  invite  your  Father  Abraham 
to  come  to  Charleston  and  see  the  little  folks  he  has 
made  free  ? "  a  thousand  black  hands  flew  up  with  a 
shout.  At  that  very  moment  the  great,  deep,  melan- 
choly eyes  were  sealed  in  death  amid  the  weeping  crowds 

125 


126  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

at  Washington !  At  Fortress  Monroe,  on  our  homeward 
voyage,  the  terrible  tidings  pierced  us  like  a  dagger. 
On  the  wharf  near  the  Fortress  poor  Negro  women  had 
hung  bits  of  coarse  black  muslin  around  their  little 
huckster  tables.  One  of  the  women  said  to  me :  "  Yes, 
sah;  Father  Linkum's  dead.  They  killed  our  best 
friend;  but  God  be  libin'  yet.  Dey  can't  kill  him; 
Fse  sure  of  dat."  Her  simple,  childlike  faith  reached  up 
to  grasp  the  Everlasting  Arm  which  had  led  Lincoln  while 
leading  her  and  her  race  out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 

Thirty  years  —  the  average  term  of  one  generation  — 
have  rolled  away  since  that  coffin,  drenched  with  a 
nation's  tears,  was  borne  by  the  mightiest  of  modern 
funeral  processions  from  Washington  to  Springfield. 
During  that  time  many  a  famous  reputation  has  waned, 
or  has  utterly  disappeared;  but  Lincoln's  looms  larger 
every  day.  Since  the  time  when  a  Corsican  lieutenant 
of  artillery  presided  over  a  congress  of  conquered  kings 
at  Tilsit,  history  has  recorded  no  such  startling  elevation 
from  obscurity.  Napoleon's  head  grew  dizzy;  but  Lin- 
coln's grew  more  serene  and  clear  and  majestically 
poised  the  higher  he  rose.  Let  our  American  boys  study 
and  grave  on  their  hearts  the  dozen  or  two  lines  that 
record  the  wonderful  story.  Here  it  is :  Born  in  one  of 
the  rudest  log  cabins  of  Kentucky  on  the  twelfth  of 
February,  1809;  his  poverty-stricken  boyhood  spent  in 
clearing  away  forests,  and  only  one  year  spent  in  the 
rudimentary  studies  of  a  rustic  school;  at  the  age  of 
nineteen  a  hired  deckhand  on  a  Mississippi  flatboat; 
then  a  clerk  in  a  country  store  in  Illinois ;  next  a  student 
of  law  from  a  few  books  borrowed  and  studied  by  fire- 
light ;  in  1834  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature ;  in 
1846  in  Congress  introducing  a  bill  to  abolish  slavery  in 


LINCOLN — AFTER   THIRTY  YEARS.  127 

the  District  of  Columbia ;  in  1858  waging  the  most  pro- 
tracted and  brilliant  debate  with  Douglas  that  our  poli- 
tics has  ever  known;  in  1860  borne  triumphantly  into 
the  Presidential  chair  by  a  popular  voice  "  like  the  sound 
of  many  waters  n ;  after  four  tempestuous  years,  and  in 
the  hour  of  victory,  translated  by  a  bloody  martyrdom 
to  his  crown  of  glory,  with  four  millions  of  broken  fetters 
in  his  good  right  hand!  What  story  is  like  unto  that 
story  ?  Thirty  years  have  written  and  rewritten  it  in 
hundreds  of  forms,  and  it  is  not  exhausted  yet. 

By  this  time  we  are  all  agreed  that  his  lowly  birth  and 
early  hardships  were  blessings  in  disguise ;  for  one,  I  am 
thankful  that  he  never  rubbed  his  homespun  back  against 
the  walls  of  a  college.  The  "  plain  people,"  as  he  called 
them,  were  his  university ;  the  Bible  and  John  Bunyan 
his  earliest  text-books.  He  felt  the  great  throb  of  the 
"plain  people's"  hearts  every  hour  that  he  was  in  the 
White  House,  and,  next  to  God's  leadings,  they  were  his 
unerring  guide.  His  plebeian  simplicity  of  dress  and 
manners,  and  his  many  humorous  stories  exposed  him  to 
the  charge  of  clownishness  and  buffoonery ;  even  Chief 
Justice  Chase  once  aroused  my  ire  by  this  unjust  insinua- 
tion. His  innumerable  jests  contained  more  wisdom 
than  many  a  philosophic  oration,  and  underneath  his 
rustic  manners  this  great  child  of  nature  possessed  the 
most  delicate  instincts  of  the  perfect  gentleman.  Lin- 
coln often  wore  the  saddest  human  face  I  ever  saw ;  his 
occasional  jokes  were  the  safety  valve  to  relieve  his  great, 
broken  heart  —  broken  by  the  nation's  ceaseless  agonies. 

To  what  intellectual  niche  has  the  impartial  verdict  of 
thirty  years  assigned  Abraham  Lincoln  ?  The  only  just 
scale  by  which  to  measure  any  man  is  the  scale  of  actual 
achievement;   and   in   Lincoln's   case  some  of  the  tools 


128  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

most  essential  to  success  had  to  be  fabricated  by  himself. 
The  first  count  in  the  measurement  is  that  with  a  calm, 
sublime  reliance  on  God  and  the  everlasting  principles  of 
Right  he  conducted  an  immense  nation  through  the  most 
tremendous  civil  war  ever  waged,  and  never  committed  a 
single  serious  mistake  !  The  Illinois  backwoodsman  did 
not  possess  Hamilton's  brilliant  genius ;  yet  Hamilton 
never  read  the  future  more  sagaciously.  He  made  no 
pretensions  to  Webster's  massive  and  magnificent  ora- 
tory; yet  Webster  never  put  more  truth  in  portable 
form  for  the  popular  guidance.  He  possessed  Benjamin 
Franklin's  immense  common  sense  and  gift  of  terse 
proverbial  speech,  without  Franklin's  "fleshly  lusts" 
and  sceptical  infirmities.  In  what  may  be  styled  civil 
literature  Lincoln's  position  is  unique ;  nearly  all  his 
productions  are  admirable,  and  a  few  of  them  are  un- 
equalled by  any  American  pen.  The  immortal  twenty- 
line  address  at  Gettysburg  is  the  high-water  mark  of 
sententious  eloquence.  With  that  speech  should  be 
placed  the  equally  pathetic  and  equally  perfect  letter  of 
condolence  to  Mrs.  Bixby,  of  Boston,  after  her  five  sons 
had  fallen  in  battle.  With  that  speech,  also,  should  be 
read  that  wonderful  second  Inaugural  Address,  which 
even  the  hostile  London  Times  pronounced  to  be  the 
most  sublime  state  paper  of  this  century.  This  second 
Address  —  his  last  great  production  —  contains  some  of 
the  best  illustrations  of  his  fondness  for  balanced  antith- 
esis and  rhythmical  measurement ;  there  is  one  sentence 
which  may  be  rendered  into  rhyme : 

"  Fondly  do  we  hope, 
Fervently  do  we  pray, 
That  this  mighty  scourge  of  war 
May  soon  pass  away." 


LINCOLN — AFTER   THIRTY  YEARS.  129 

Terrible  as  was  the  tragedy  of  that  April  night  thirty 
years  ago,  yet  it  may  be  sadly  true  that  Lincoln  died  at 
the  right  time  for  his  own  imperishable  fame.  It  was 
fitting  that  his  precious  blood  should  be  the  last  to  be 
shed  in  the  stupendous  struggle.  He  had  called  over  two 
hundred  thousand  heroes  to  lay  down  their  lives,  and 
then  his  own  was  laid  down  beside  the  humblest  private 
soldier  or  drummer  boy  that  fills  the  sacred  mould  of 
Gettysburg  or  Chickamauga.  In  an  instant,  as  it  were, 
his  career  crystallized  into  that  pure  white  fame  which 
belongs  only  to  the  martyr  for  justice,  law  and  liberty. 

For  a  whole  generation  his  ashes  have  slumbered  in  his 
old,  beloved  home  at  Springfield.  From  that  tomb  his 
dust  may  be  summoned  on  the  last  great  Day  of  Judg- 
ment, when  the  millions  of  the  liberated  may  gratefully 
say  to  their  Liberator :  "  We  were  a-hungered,  and  thou 
gavest  us  the  bread  of  mercy ;  we  were  thirsty  for  liberty, 
and  thou  gavest  us  to  drink  ;  we  were  strangers,  and  thou 
didst  take  us  in ;  we  were  sick  with  two  centuries  of  sor- 
row, and  thou  didst  visit  us  ;  we  were  in  the  prison  house 
of  bondage,  and  thou  earnest  unto  us."  And  we  may 
surely  believe  that  the  King  will  say  unto  him :  "  Inas- 
much as  thou  hast  done  this  unto  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  thou  hast  done  it  unto  Me.  Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant !     Enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  !" 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


LINCOLN'S  MOST  CONSPICUOUS  YIETUE. 

FROM  A   CONFEDERATE  GENERAL. 

BY  THE  HON.  JOHN  T.  MORGAN, 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Alabama. 

The  character  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  not  yet  known  to 
this  generation,  as  it  will  be  to  those  who  shall  live  in 
later  centuries.  They  will  see,  as  we  cannot  yet  perceive, 
the  full  maturity  of  his  wisdom  in  its  actual  effects  upon 
the  destinies  of  two  great  races  of  men.  Probably,  he 
had  an  inadequate  conception  of  his  own  work.  Had  he 
lived  to  full  age,  his  guidance  of  the  emancipation,  that 
he  decreed  under  military  law,  would  have  saved  both 
races  from  many  of  the  rough  experiences  that  it  has 
produced  and  will  yet  cause,  by  the  effort  to  fuse  the 
races  into  political  harmony,  against  the  mutual  instinct 
that  will  keep  them  forever  separated  by  race  and  social 
antagonisms. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  clearly  displayed  in 
his  conduct  of  the  War,  but  he  was  deprived  of  the  op- 
portunity for  its  full  development  in  a  period  of  peace 
and  security.  His  most  conspicuous  virtue,  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  Army  and  Navy,  was  the  absence 
of  a  spirit  of  resentment,  or  oppression,  toward  the  enemy, 

130 


LINCOLN'S  MOST  CONSPICUOUS   VIRTUE.  131 

and  the  self-imposed  restraint  under  which  he  exercised 
the  really  absolute  powers  within  his  grasp.  For  this  all 
his  countrymen  revere  his  memory,  rejoice  in  the  excel- 
lence of  his  fame,  and  those  who  failed  in  the  great 
struggle  hold  him  in  grateful  esteem. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN   AS   SEEN   BY  A   LIFE- 
LONG DEMOCRAT. 

AFTER  GOING   THROUGH  BALTIMORE. 

BY  COL.   B.   F.   WATSON, 
Op  the  Massachusetts  Sixth  Regiment. 

My  slight  individual  knowledge  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  during  his  first  term  as  President,  and  was  comprised 
in  two  interviews  at  the  White  House,  one  at  the  request 
of  the  officers  of  my  regiment  and  the  other  at  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's request,  and  to  a  brief  correspondence  of  which  I 
still  retain  two  of  his  autograph  letters,  all,  interviews 
and  correspondence,  having  some  connection  with  each 
other,  although  in  dates  separated  by  several  months. 

I  first  saw  him  on  Sunday  morning,  April  21st,  1861, 
near  the  entrance  to  the  Cabinet  chamber  in  the  White 
House.  At  the  urgent  request  of  the  captains  of  the 
Sixth  Regiment  of  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  I  called 
upon  Maj.-Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  then  commanding  the 
United  States  Army.  I  was  unattended.  There  is  no 
special  importance  in  the  facts  I  am  about  to  state  unless 
it  be  remembered  that  this  Sunday  was  but  six  days  after 
the  firing  upon  Sumter,  and  two  days  after  the  affair  of 
Baltimore,  that  Washington  and  the  whole  country  were 
surging  under  an  excitement  almost  impossible  to  describe, 
and  that  I  was  the  representative  of  a  body  of  men  who 
had  been  recently  making  history. 

132 


AS  SEEN  BY  A  LIFELONG  DEMOCRAT.  133 

On  the  nineteenth  of  January,  1861,  upon  my  motion, 
the  commanders  of  its  companies,  Colonel  Jones  presiding, 
adopted  a  resolution  tendering  the  services  of  the  "  Sixth  " 
to  the  President.  This  first  volunteering  so  impressed 
the  authorities  that  the  Sixth  was  first  called  by  the 
President  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  April,  1861 ;  it  rallied 
from  thirty  cities  and  towns,  fully  armed  and  equipped, 
and  travelled  over  600  miles  with  such  alacrity  that  it 
reached  Washington  in  advance  of  all  other  organized 
and  armed  forces  in  the  afternoon  of  the  nineteenth  of 
April,  after  a  conflict  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore  in  which 
it  had  four  men  killed,  thirty-six  wounded  by  gunshots, 
and  many  otherwise  injured,  all  of  its  unarmed  men 
being  driven  back.  It  left  many  dead  and  wounded 
rebels  behind  it. 

By  unfortunate  circumstances  which  divided  the  troops 
into  three  separate  detachments,  I,  then  only  second  in 
command,  was  compelled  to  fight  my  way  through  Balti- 
more at  the  head  of  about  fifty  men  of  Company  K,  of 
Boston.  This  detachment  both  drew  and  shed  the  first 
blood  in  the  great  Rebellion,  although  the  main  conflict  of 
the  day  took  place  soon  after  with  the  detachment  follow- 
ing, commanded  for  the  time  by  Captain  Follansbee. 
Baltimore,  with  its  200,000  inhabitants,  its  prevailing 
Southern  sympathies,  and  its  notorious  "  Plug  Ugly  " 
element,  was  the  strategic  key  by  which  the  dis-imionists 
proposed  to  lock  the  loyal  North  out  of  the  nation's 
Capital  until  its  occupation  in  force  from  Baltimore  and 
the  South  should  compel  the  recognition  of  the  Confed- 
eracy as  the  de-facto  Government.  A  single  regiment,  un- 
trained in  war,  exhibiting  the  pluck  to  break  through 
this  cordon  of  rebellion,  could  be  hailed  only  with  relief 
by  the  beleaguered  Government  and  by  that  fraction  of 


134  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  residents  of  Washington  who  entertained  positive 
sentiments  of  loyalty  to  the  Union.  Colonel  Jones  has 
testified  that  the  President  met  the  Sixth  at  the  railroad 
station  and  said  that  if  its  arrival  had  been  delayed  a 
single  day,  Washington  would  have  been  in  the  hands  of 
the  rebels.  It  will  appear  later  that  the  commanding 
general  of  the  army  entertained  similar  sentiments. 
Later  on  Congress  recorded  its  tribute  in  a  resolution 
tendering  its  thanks 

"  To  the  Sixth  Regiment  of  Massachusetts  Volunteers  for  the 
alacrity  with  which  they  responded  to  the  call  of  the  President,  and 
the  patriotism  and  bravery  which  they  displayed  on  the  nineteenth 
of  April  last  in  fighting  their  way  through  the  City  of  Baltimore  on 
their  march  to  the  defence  of  the  Federal  Capital." 

The  Sixth  took  possession  of  the  Capital,  and  in- 
trenched itself  therein  as  though  it  had  come  to  stay.  It 
had  not  had  a  square  meal  since  it  left  Philadelphia,  the 
Thursday  night  before.  Its  experience  had  sharpened 
its  appetite,  for  Baltimore  had  tendered  no  refreshments. 
Either  by  accident  or  by  the  design  of  some  traitorous 
commissary,  the  presence  of  the  "  salt  horse,"  as  the  boys 
familiarly  called  the  meat  which  was  offered  them,  could 
be  detected  by  more  of  the  senses  than  one,  and  was  re- 
pulsive to  all  of  them,  and  the  large  round  crackers 
usually  called  "  Hard-tack,"  the  accompanying  delicacy, 
were  so  adamantine  from  composition  or  antiquity  as  to 
withstand  most  assaults  and,  when  conquered,  to  afford 
no  sustenance.  They  were  soon  nicknamed  "  The  regu- 
lars," from  their  supposed  invincibility.  Unless  the 
veracity  of  veterans  is  to  be  questioned,  certain  retained 
specimens  of  these  hard  biscuit  have  since  the  Rebellion 
served  as  wheels  to  the  play  carts  of  two  or  three  gener- 


AS  SEEN  BY  A  LIFELONG  DEMOCRAT.  135 

ations  of  veteran  babies.  My  mission  on  that  Sunday- 
morning  was  to  induce  General  Scott  to  order  a  change 
in  this  diet.  The  situation  mitigated  the  presumption 
of  such  an  application  to  an  officer  of  such  exalted  rank. 
I  found  General  Scott  attending  a  meeting  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  Cabinet,  convened  to  listen  to  the  demands 
of  the  authorities  of  Maryland,  including  the  Mayor  of 
Baltimore,  that  no  troops  should  pass  over  the  sacred 
soil  of  Maryland  in  reaching  Washington,  and  I  thus 
accidentally  became  a  participant  in  a  meeting  which 
has  become  historic,  and  of  which,  so  far  as  I  know,  I  am 
now  the  only  survivor.  Being  summoned  to  the  open 
door  of  the  room,  General  Scott  received  my  salute  and 
my  story.  He  drew  himself  up  to  the  most  impressive 
development  of  his  magnificent  proportions,  and  grandly 
announced :  "  The  Sixth  Regiment  of  Massachusetts,  sir, 
shall  have  anything  it  wants ;  we  depend  upon  the  Sixth 
Regiment  of  Massachusetts  to  save  the  Capital  of  the 
country,  sir."  All  fear  of  the  "guard  tent"  for  my  pre- 
sumption disappeared. 

The  General's  statement  was  true,  certainly  upon  that 
Sunday,  and  for  four  or  five  days  thereafter,  and  until 
Gen.  B.  F.  Butler,  with  the  Seventh  Regiment  of  New 
York  and  the  Eighth  of  Massachusetts,  arrived  in  Wash- 
ington, by  the  way  of  Annapolis. 

It  seems  to  be  the  fact  that  the  President  and  the 
Commanding  General  placed  little  reliance  upon  the  semi- 
military  and  semi-political  clubs,  adorned  with  names  of 
prominent  politicians  such  as  "  Cassius  M.  Clay  Invinci- 
bles,"  "  Hannibal  Hamlin  Guards,"  or  upon  the  three  or 
four  unarmed  and  uncombined  companies  of  Pennsylvania 
militia  who,  in  post-bellum  times,  have  published  them- 
selves as  "  First  defenders  of  the  Capital." 


136  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

While  General  Scott  was  speaking  with  me,  President 
Lincoln  came  forward,  and,  after  shaking  hands,  said  he 
would  like  to  introduce  me  to  the  Mayor  of  Baltimore  and 
to  learn  if  I  could  confirm  the  statements  he  had  been 
making  to  the  effect  that  he  had  personally  exerted  him- 
self to  protect  the  Sixth  during  its  passage  through  Balti- 
more, and  that  he  had  marched  much  of  the  way  through 
the  city  at  its  head.  The  Mayor  and  others,  in  the  mean- 
time, had  gathered  around  and  within  hearing  of  the 
President's  remarks.  I  fear  my  manner  was  not  compli- 
mentary toward  the  Mayor.  I  am  sure  my  speech  was 
not.  So  recent  had  been  my  "  baptism  of  fire  "  I  doubt- 
less bore  my  testimony  with  indiscreet  zeal.  I  said,  in 
effect,  that  under  the  circumstances  it  was  unfortunate 
for  the  Mayor  of  Baltimore,  as  such,  to  appeal  to  me  for 
a  certificate  of  character ;  that  we,  as  citizen  soldiers,  had 
endeavored  to  pass  through  Baltimore,  not  only  in  a  peace- 
able and  proper  manner,  but  strictly  in  obedience  to  su- 
perior order,  that  insult  and  assault  should  be  submitted 
to,  and  that  wounds  with  firearms  alone  should  justify 
retaliation ;  that  at  the  beginning  of  our  passage  the 
police  had  threatened  me  that  not  a  man  of  us  would  be 
allowed  to  go  through  the  city  alive ;  and  that  our  graves 
had  been  already  dug ;  that  neither  the  police,  nor  other 
officials,  in  any  instance  to  my  knowledge,  had  attempted 
any  protection ;  that  prior  to  that  moment  I  had  never 
seen  the  Mayor  ;  that  I  had  been  informed  by  one  of  the 
captains  of  one  of  the  detachments  that  the  Mayor  did 
march  about  one  hundred  yards  beside  him,  when  he  left 
saying  that  the  position  was  too  hot  for  him.  So  far  as 
I  was  concerned,  the  interview  was  then  ended  by  my 
withdrawing,  the  President  having  said  that  the  rations 
should  be  made  satisfactory. 


AS  SEEN  BY  A  LIFELONG  DEMOCRAT.  137 

Many  times  since  I  have  recalled  the  scene.  The 
Mayor's  look  of  intense  disgust,  the  astonishing  dignity 
of  the  Commanding  General,  and  the  expression,  half 
sad,  half  quizzical,  on  the  face  of  the  President  at  the 
evident  infelicity  of  his  introduction.  If  I  did  not  leave 
that  distinguished  presence  with  my  reputation  for  in- 
tegrity unimpaired,  the  pressure  of  Abraham  Lincoln's 
honest  hand,  as  we  parted,  deceived  me.  My  mission, 
at  all  events,  was  successful,  and  the  rations  improved. 

While  Washington  remained  isolated  from  the  North, 
the  Sixth,  by  General  Scott's  orders,  daily  marched  in 
the  streets  and  practised  the  street-firing  drill,  while  the 
air  was  vocal  with  muttered  curses ;  and  more  than  one 
night  the  Regiment  slept  upon  its  arms  in  the  Senate 
Chamber  under  orders  to  surround  the  White  House  at 
the  first  alarm,  and  defend  the  President  from  attack. 

When  I  marched  with  the  Sixth,  I  was  a  young  lawyer, 
the  owner  and  editor  of  a  Democratic  newspaper,  and 
also  Postmaster  of  Lawrence,  Mass.,  which  position  I 
had  held  under  the  administrations  of  President  Pierce 
and  Buchanan.  The  Postmaster-General  was  the  brother- 
in-law  of  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  who  in 
Lawrence  had  been  my  nearest  neighbor  and  my  friend. 
This  brought  me  many  kind  attentions  and  courtesies, 
and  also  unsolicited  assurances  that  my  military  services 
would  insure  my  retention  as  Postmaster;  but  I  per- 
sistently declined  to  associate  ofnceholding  with  the 
simple  duty  I  had  rendered  to  my  convictions  as  an 
American  citizen.  I  now  hold  the  proofs  that  even  when 
the  very  existence  of  the  Union  was  menaced  efforts 
were  being  made  to  supplant  me  as  Postmaster  and  also 
that,  without  my  knowledge,  counter  efforts  were  being 
made  by  leading  Republicans  to  have  me  retained.     One 


138  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  the  aspirants  to  the  place  is  now  living  in  honorable 
old  age  to  whom  the  President  gave  his  assurance  that 
I  should  be  retained  in  office.  Early  in  the  month  of 
May,  when  Washington  was  filling  up  with  loyal  troops, 
the  Sixth  was  ordered  to  the  Relay  House,  about  eight 
miles  from  Baltimore,  to  guard  the  junction  of  the 
Washington  branch  with  the  main  line  of  the  railroad 
which  led  to  Harper's  Ferry,  where  the  rebel  forces 
under  General  Joseph  Johnston  were  located  and  were 
receiving  material  aid  from  Baltimore.  At  this  camp 
the  Sixth  spent  the  remainder  of  its  original  term  of 
enlistment,  and  the  short  additional  term  volunteered  by 
it  on  account  of  the  insecurity  felt  by  the  Government 
after  the  first  Bull  Run  disaster.  The  regiment  elected 
me  Lieutenant-Colonel  soon  after  reaching  the  Relay 
House,  and  owing  to  Colonel  Jones's  promotion  I  there- 
after commanded  the  Sixth.  While  stationed  there  I 
was  informed  that  the  United  States  Government  would 
accept  from  me  its  first  independent  regiment.  This 
was  under  a  misapprehension  of  its  authority  as  it  was 
afterward  defined.  Some  correspondence  took  place  upon 
the  subject,  and  I  abandoned  the  idea  for  various  reasons, 
mostly  personal,  and  the  Government  apparently  under- 
stood my  determination.  I  certainly  declined  an  invi- 
tation in  writing  dated  July  13th,  from  one  having 
authority,  to  visit  Washington  personally  and  confer 
with  the  Secretary  of  War  upon  the  subject,  and  I 
dropped  the  matter  out  of  mind. 

About  the  first  of  August,  the  Sixth  returned  to  Boston ; 
being  the  first  regiment  to  march ;  its  career  had  excited 
great  attention,  and  its  reception  along  the  homeward 
route  was  remarkable.  Its  every  movement  was  chroni- 
cled  in  the   press,  and   ovations,  festivities,  triumphal 


AS  SEEN  BY  A  LIFELONG  DEMOCRAT.  139 

arches  and  oratory  greeted  it  at  every  point.  The  famous 
War  Governor,  John  A.  Andrew,  dismissed  the  regiment 
on  Boston  Common,  in  an  Executive  Order,  saying  of  the 
Sixth : 

"It  was  the  first  which  went  forward  to  the  defence  of  the 
National  Capital.  It  passed  through  Baltimore,  despite  the  cow- 
ardly assault  upon  it,  and  was  the  first  to  reach  Washington.  Its 
gallant  conduct  has  reflected  new  lustre  upon  the  Commonwealth, 
and  has  given  new  historic  interest  to  the  nineteenth  of  April.  It 
has  returned  after  more  than  three  months  of  action  and  respon- 
sible service.  It  will  be  received  by  our  people  with  warm  hearts 
and  generous  hands." 

Within  one  week  after  my  return  my  removal  from 
the  office  of  Postmaster  was  published.  In  reply  to  a 
telegraph  inquiry  if  the  rumor  was  true,  the  President, 
on  the  eighth  day  of  August,  wrote : 

"If  I  signed  a  paper,  in  making  a  change  in  the  office,  it  was 
among  others,  without  my  being  conscious  of  this  particular  one." 

He  enclosed  the  Postmaster-General's  memorandum,  say- 
ing that  the  change  had  been  made  because  the  United 
States  Government  had  tendered  me  the  command  of  a 
regiment,  and  it  was  supposed  that  I  was  raising  that 
regiment  for  service  during  the  War.  The  President 
added : 

"  I  shall  talk  fully  with  the  Postmaster-General  on  the  subject 
when  I  next  see  him." 

This  removal  caused  intense  and  widespread  excitement. 
The  exercise  of  political  proscription,  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  when  the  life  of  the  nation  hung  in  the 
balance,  and  the  Government  was  believed  to  be  doomed 
unless  the  services  of  the  great  body  of  the  Northern 


140  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Democrats  could  be  relied  upon,  caused  apprehension  in 
the  minds  of  friends  of  the  Union.  Republicans  and 
Democrats  alike  joined  in  denouncing  the  act.  Letters 
came  to  me  from  men  high  in  political  and  Federal  office 
denouncing  it,  and  I  afterward  learned  that  complaints 
were  poured  into  the  ears  of  the  authorities  at  Washing- 
ton. The  newspapers  of  both  parties  in  many  parts  of 
the  North  vied  with  each  other  in  condemning  the  policy, 
and  particularly  its  application  to  me,  and  I  received 
more  than  my  meed  of  praise.  I  heard  nothing  more 
from  Washington.  As  the  theme  began  to  oppress  me  as 
too  personal  and  possibly  detrimental  to  the  cause  of  the 
country,  I  wrote  an  editorial  for  my  newspaper  depre- 
cating the  agitation,  which  was  widely  copied  but  failed 
to  stop  the  clamor.  To  show  the  spirit  I  quote  a  few 
words  of  it : 

"  The  opposition  to  the  removal  comes  perhaps  not  so  much  be- 
cause of  partiality  to  the  present  incumbent  and  his  official  con- 
duct as  from  the  unfortunate  influence  it  may  excite  (limited,  to 
be  sure)  upon  the  interests  of  the  national  cause  at  this  critical 
juncture.  .  .  .  We  have  little  diposition  to  criminate  or  rebel, 
especially  when  the  Government  needs  a  hearty  support.  Place 
and  patronage  are  sweet,  but  the  dear  country  and  the  flag  have 
far  superior  claims.  As  heretofore,  while  differing  in  political 
sentiment  on  many  subjects  from  the  administration,  we  shall 
sustain  with  all  our  humble  abilities  all  measures  tending  to  vindi- 
cate the  national  honor  and  shall  only  sound  the  alarm  when 
incompetency  or  unfaithfulness  are  apparent.  Thus  far  we  have 
endeavored  to  do  the  duty  due  from  every  citizen  for  the  protection 
thrown  around  him  by  a  good  Government.  The  performance  of 
that  simple  and  natural  duty  entitles  us  to  no  special  favors,  and 
none  have  been  claimed." 

After  this  I  ceased  to  pay  much  attention  to  the  affair, 
and  departed  for  a  much  needed  vacation.     The  clamor 


AS  SEEN  BY  A  LIFELONG  DEMOCRAT.  141 

in  the  newspapers,  it  now  appears,  continued.  A  letter, 
dated  the  thirty -first  of  August,  1861,  from  a  high  official, 
informed  me  that  the  President  was  asking  about  my 
new  regiment,  and  I  was  urged  to  take  it  to  the  front.  I 
did  not  then  appreciate  the  reason  for  the  writing  of  that 
letter,  and  I  did  not  reply  to  it,  as  I  considered  that  the 
writer  knew  I  had  abandoned  the  project.  Late  in  the 
month  of  September,  1861,  while  at  the  seashore,  I 
received  a  telegram  from  the  Postmaster-General  that 
the  President  wanted  to  see  me  in  Washington  immedi- 
ately. I  reluctantly  took  the  journey  in  response,  and 
only  because  I  believed  the  invitation  was  properly  to  be 
considered  a  command.  When,  on  the  first  day  of  Octo- 
ber, I  asked  an  attendant  at  the  White  House  to  take  my 
card  to  the  President,  saying  that  he  had  sent  for  me,  to 
my  amazement  I  was  speedily  conducted  through  the 
waiting  throng  which  filled  the  corridors,  and  was  intro- 
duced into  the  President's  private  office,  the  same  room 
where  I  had  formerly  been  introduced  to  President 
Pierce  and  President  Buchanan.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  alone. 
He  met  me  in  the  most  cordial  manner,  and  earnestly 
entered  upon  the  statement  of  why  I  had  been  sent  for. 
If  I  were  at  liberty  and  had  the  ability  to  do  justice  to 
his  manner  and  language  upon  that  occasion,  the  narra- 
tive could  not  fail  to  deepen  the  reader's  conviction  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  not  only  patriotic,  true  and  noble, 
but  anxious  to  repair  any  fault  he  might  have  committed, 
and  that  his  reputation  for  homely  and  forcible  pictu- 
resqueness  of  speech  had  been  fairly  earned.  His  man- 
ner was  kind  and  familiar.  He  immediately  referred  to 
my  official  decapitation  by  him,  and  condemned  the  act 
in  as  severe  terms  as  those  of  any  of  his  newspaper 
critics.     He  referred  in  enthusiastic  and  complimentary 


142  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

terms  to  the  services  the  Sixth  had  rendered,  and  char- 
acterized my  removal  by  him  as  specially  unfortunate, 
when  I  had  been  ready  to  stake  my  life  in  his  defence. 
He  said  he  was  unaware  of  what  he  was  doing  in  my 
removal,  as  those  who  had  induced  it  did  not  at  the  time 
inform  him,  and  they  afterward  explained  that  I  had 
accepted  the  tendered  regiment  and  would  not  care  to 
retain  the  post  office,  particularly  when  I  knew  what 
efforts  politicians  were  making  to  succeed  me.  In  very 
forcible  language  he  said  he  would  instantly  reinstate  me 
if  he  did  not  propose  to  place  me  in  a  much  better  posi- 
tion. I  listened  until  he  closed  with  the  inquiry  as  to 
what  position  would  be  agreeable  to  me.  I  then  said  I 
was  seeking  no  office  and  wanted  none.  In  the  most 
earnest  manner  he  said  that  I  must  accept  some  appoint- 
ment, so  that  it  could  be  published  that  the  administra- 
tion had  rectified  its  unintentional  wrong ;  that  the  act 
was  believed  to  be  injuriously  affecting  enlistments.  I 
said  that  I  had  not  complained  of  my  removal ;  that  my 
military  services  had  been  performed  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  and  office  had  never  in  the  least  influenced  me; 
that  I  recognized  the  right  to  appoint  his  political  friends 
to  office,  and  that  I  saw  no  occasion  for  exception  in 
my  case.  He  said  that  the  same  patriotism  which  had 
induced  me  to  make  the  sacrifices  I  had  made  must  pre- 
vail upon  me  to  accept  some  place,  in  view  of  the  injury 
to  the  cause  which  the  clamor  at  my  removal  would 
effect.  He  said  in  substance  that  I  should  be  appointed 
to  any  office  that  was  agreeable  to  me  or  that  I  would 
accept.  I  told  him  that  I  would  do  all  I  could  to  stop 
the  criticisms  made  on  my  behalf ;  that  in  time  of  war  I 
could  not  accept  any  offer  not  connected  with  the  mili- 
tary forces  and  that  I  had  partially  promised  not  to  go 


AS  SEEN  BY  A  LIFELONG  DEMOCRAT.  143 

again  to  the  front.  He  then,  jocosely  I  think,  referred 
to  the  numerous  appointments  of  brigadiers,  and  then 
said  that  a  Paymastership  of  Volunteers  was  not  only 
one  of  the  most  desirable  positions  in  the  army  but  one 
that  might  enable  me  to  keep  my  promise.  Without 
yielding  my  objection  to  office  I  admitted  that  his  last 
suggestion  offered  the  most  plausible  solution  to  the  situ- 
ation, but  suggested  that  such  a  position  in  the  regular 
army  might  more  certainly  insure  my  location  near 
home.  He  said  he  would  write  to  the  Secretary  and  fix 
that.  He  wrote,  read  to  me  and  then  sealed  the  follow- 
ing letter,  which  I  have  never  used,  and  the  seal  of  which 
I  never  broke  until  after  his  assassination : 

"  Executive  Mansion,  October  1st,  1861. 
"Honorable  Secretary  of  War: 

" My  dear  Sir: —  The  Postmaster-General  and  myself  have 
special  reasons  for  wishing  to  oblige  Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Watson,  of 
Lawrence,  Massachusetts.  He  has  been  appointed  an  Assistant 
Paymaster,  or  Paymaster  of  Volunteers,  but  he  wishes  the  same 
post  in  the  regular  army.  If  there  is  any  vacancy,  not  committed 
to  any  other  person,  let  Mr.  Watson  have  it.  If  there  be  no  such 
vacancy,  oblige  him,  as  far  as  you  can,  by  sending  him  to  service  at 
the  place  which  suits  him  best.    Yours  truly, 

*'  A.  Lincoln." 

He  then  wrote  on  the  envelope  "Hon.  Sec.  of  War," 
and  added  a  memorandum  most  necessary  in  those  days 
when  the  Government  buildings  were  filled  with  crowds 
vainly  seeking  personal  interviews  with  officials,  "  Please 
see  Mr.  Watson."  No  other  justification  existed  for  the 
statement  in  this  letter,  that  I  had  been  appointed,  etc., 
than  that  I  have  herein  narrated,  excepting,  probably, 
his  determination  to  right  that  which  he  thought  was  a 
wrong,  his  desire  to  do  nothing  detrimental  to  the  Union 


144  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

cause,  his  belief  that  he  had  hit  upon  that  which  I  was 
bound  patriotically  to  accept,  and  his  decision  that  the 
appointment  should  be  tendered  whether  accepted  or  not. 
I  was  gazetted  Paymaster  all  over  the  country  the  next 
morning,  but  I  did  not  for  six  weeks  thereafter  finally 
conclude  to  accept  the  office.  After  the  President  had 
read  his  letter  and  I  was  about  to  retire,  Gen.  B.  F. 
Butler  was  announced.  He  was  then  in  his  zenith  and 
all  governmental  doors  were  open  to  him.  In  his  pecul- 
iar manner  the  General  scanned  me  from  head  to  foot 
and  demanded  what  had  brought  me  there.  I  replied 
that  the  Commander-in-Chief  had  sent  for  me.  In  reply 
the  General,  in  his  rough  way,  informed  the  President 
that  we  were  friends  and  neighbors,  whereupon  the  Presi- 
dent narrated  to  him  what  had  taken  place  between  us 
and  said  that  he  had  been  trying  to  induce  me  to  accept 
office.  To  this  General  Butler  replied  that  he  wanted 
me  to  be  appointed  Paymaster  of  the  Gulf,  with  permis- 
sion to  employ  all  requisite  clerks,  and  he  added,  "  I  will 
go  on  his  bond."  The  President  said  it  should  be  done 
accordingly.  I  said  nothing.  General  Butler  assumed 
that  I  was  from  that  moment  on  his  staff  and  made  an 
appointment  to  call  for  me  that  evening  at  my  hotel,  and 
I  left  the  President  and  the  General  together.  That 
night  I  went  with  General  Butler  to  visit  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet  and  heard  the  proposed  expedition  for  the 
capture  of  New  Orleans  discussed  in  all  its  details.  I 
subsequently  accepted  the  office  of  Paymaster  of  Volun- 
teers, and  served  until  seriously  disabled  in  the  perform- 
ance of  duty,  when,  declining  an  appointment  in  the 
Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  I  resigned  in  October,  1864. 

I  never  saw  Abraham  Lincoln  again,  but  I  shall  carry 
through  life  the  impression  of  his  remarkable  personality. 


AS  SEEN  BY  A  LIFELONG  DEMOCRAT.  145 

It  need  not  be  claimed  that  he  was  a  perfect  man;  at 
times  he  may  have  exhibited  weakness  on  the  side  of 
amiability;  but  if  he  was  thereby  led  into  error,  his 
determination  to  be  the  fearless,  upright  man  he  was 
by  nature,  ultimately  snapped  asunder  all  of  the  cords 
woven  by  the  influence  of  the  strong  and  ambitious  men 
who  surrounded  him  —  such  men  as  Sumner,  Seward, 
Chase,  Ben  Wade,  Oliver  Morton  and  others.  His 
strength  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  while  bearing  the 
burden  of  the  leadership  of  a  country  disrupted  by  a 
great  and  bloody  conflict,  which  in  the  beginning  was  of 
doubtful  issue,  he  curbed  and  controlled  the  extraordi- 
nary men  who,  in  a  generation  of  intellectual  conflict, 
dethroned  King  Cotton  and  destroyed  the  mighty  insti- 
tution of  Slavery,  before  which  the  fathers  of  the  Kevo- 
lution  were  impotent. 

Notwithstanding  Abraham  Lincoln's  humor,  his  whim- 
sical playfulness  of  expression  and  his  keen  appreciation 
of  wit,  which  were  always  evident,  the  impression  made 
by  him  at  the  time  of  which  I  write  was  of  a  man 
anxious,  weary  and  heavy  laden,  earnestly  laboring  to 
perform  the  duties  laid  upon  him.  This  impression  was, 
of  course,  deepened  and  made  permanent  by  the  time 
and  manner  of  his  tragic  death.  In  my  opinion,  he  was 
the  instrument  chosen  by  Providence  to  effect  the  salva- 
tion of  the  Union  and  the  triumph  of  the  Flag. 

New  York  City. 


THE  HOUR   OF  HIS   THANKSGIVING. 

"A  THUNDERING  OLD  GLORY"  —THE  NEWS  OF  HIS 
ASSASSIN  A  TION  —  ANGR  Y  CROWD  AT  THE  S  UB-  TREAS- 
URY. 

BY  THE  HON.  L.  E.  CHITTENDEN, 
Ex-Kegistrar  of  the  Treasury. 

The  number  of  men  whose  acquaintance  with  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  intimate  enough  to  enable  them  to  form 
any  just  estimate  of  his  character,  is  small  and  rapidly 
diminishing.  If  they  are  true  to  his  memory,  as  they 
recall  his  voice  and  presence  through  the  softening  influ- 
ences of  thirty  years,  they  will  experience  a  sensation 
of  regret  that  they  did  not  better  improve  their-  oppor- 
tunities and  more  fully  appreciate  his  statesmanship  and 
other  great  qualities.  They  are  asking  themselves  how 
it  could  have  happened  that,  when  he  was  delivering  his 
first  inaugural  address,  writing  his  letter  of  August  22d, 
1862,  to  Mr.  Greeley,  that  of  August  26th,  1863,  to  Mr. 
J.  C.  Conkling,  and  the  address  at  Gettysburg,  all  which 
will  be  read  and  admired  as  the  gems  of  our  English 
speech  while  history  endures,  they  did  not  recognize 
him  as  the  greatest  patriot,  statesman  and  writer  of  his 
time?  I  suppose  the  reason  must  have  been  that  our 
hopes  and  fears  for  the  safety  of  the  Union  so  engrossed 
all  our  thoughts  that  we  had  no  time  for  other  subjects, 
and  as  we  knew  that  nothing  but  the  success  of  our  arms 

146 


THE  HOUR   OF  HIS   THANKSGIVING.  147 

could  save  it,  nothing  greatly  impressed  us  but  victory 
on  the  field. 

At  last,  after  years  of  weary  waiting,  victory  had  come 
—  not  alone  in  one  bloody  battle,  but  all  over  the  theatre 
of  war.  Around  the  seacoasts,  up  gulf,  bayou  and  river, 
from  the  Ohio  down  through  Nashville  and  Atlanta  to 
the  rice  fields  of  the  Savannah,  up  through  Carolina 
pines  and  down  through  Virginia  swamps,  everywhere 
the  eagles  of  victory  were  borne  upon  our  standards. 
Lee,  Gordon  and  other  great  war  generals  had  sheathed 
their  swords,  and  promised  never  again  to  draw  them 
from  their  scabbards  except  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
Grant  had  said  to  his  prisoners,  "  Take  your  horses  and 
goods  to  your  homes,  plough,  sow  and  reap,  and  become 
good  citizens."  And  all  over  the  free  North  gray -haired 
sires,  true-hearted  wives  and  bright-faced  children  were 
making  ready  to  welcome  sons,  husbands  and  fathers 
home  from  the  War. 

There  was  one  form  which  it  was  grand  to  look  upon 
in  those  days.  Truly  he  wist  not  that  his  face  shone 
like  that  of  Moses  when  he  came  down  from  Sinai  with 
the  tables  of  the  testimony  in  his  hands.  It  was  like  a 
picture  drawn  by  a  great  artist  to  express  all  the  noble 
qualities  of  humanity  —  chiefly  benevolence,  kindness 
and  charity;  as  grand  a  face  as  ever  was  given  to  man. 
I  need  scarcely  be  more  specific.  Such  a  face  could 
belong  only  to  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  this  hour  of 
thanksgiving  we  were  chiefly  grateful  for  one  mercy  —  I 
might  well  write  above  all  others.  It  was  that  the  trials 
of  our  Greatheart  had  come  to  an  end.  We  had  seen 
him  when  they  began  —  when  his  face  was  smooth,  genial 
and,  on  occasion,  humorous.  As  his  duties  multiplied 
and  his  responsibilities  were  greater,  we  had  seen  them 


148  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

plough  deep  furrows  in  his  face  and  make  it  so  sad  and 
sorrowful  that  it  was  painful  to  look  upon.  They  were 
ended  now.  His  faith  had  been  justified.  Worn  and 
exhausted  by  four  long  years  of  strife,  turmoil  and  per- 
plexity, rest  had  come  to  him  at  last.  He  could  rest  in 
the  peace  of  a  restored  Union,  a  saved  Republic,  for 
which  he  had  wrought  so  faithfully,  which  he  had  so 
richly  earned.  Peace!  Peace!  North,  South,  and 
throughout  the  land!  It  was  not  unlike  that  other 
peace  that  passeth  understanding. 

Our  Lincoln  was  never  more  noble  in  appearance  than 
on  Friday,  April  14th,  1865.  He  had  laid  aside  the  bur- 
den of  his  cares ;  his  heart  was  full  of  gratitude  for  a 
country  saved,  and  overflowing  with  compassion  for  the 
conquered.  At  breakfast  he  had  heard  the  story  of 
Appomattox  from  the  lips  of  his  own  son.  All  the  day 
long  he  had  been  in  consultation  with  members  of  his 
Cabinet  and  others  over  plans  of  reconstruction,  in  which 
there  was  no  trace  of  cruelty  or  punishment.  Toward 
evening  he  was  intending  to  take  his  accustomed  drive. 
As  he  was  coming  down  the  stairway  a  one-armed  soldier 
said :  "  I  would  almost  give  my  other  hand  if  I  could 
shake  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln."  "You  shall  do  that 
and  it  shall  cost  you  nothing,  my  boy !  "  said  the  Presi- 
dent. "He  grasped  my  hand  and  held  it,"  said  the  sol- 
dier, "  while  he  asked  my  name  and  regiment  and  where 
I  lost  my  arm ;  and  said  I  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  a  lot 
of  pleasant  things."  This  man  brushed  something  out 
of  his  eyes  as  he  told  the  story,  and  ended  it  with :  "  I 
tell  you,  boys,  Abe  Lincoln  is  a  thundering  old  glory ! " 
I  can  say  that  never  was  a  ruler  so  loved  by  his  loyal 
people  as  Abraham  Lincoln  on  that  last  day  of  his  mortal 
life ;  but  I  should  despair  of  describing  more  impres- 
sively than  in  these  words  of  a  private  soldier. 


THE  HOUR  OF  HIS   THANKSGIVING.  149 

I  never  read  and  I  will  not  write  about  the  remaining 
hours  of  this  noble  life.  I  prefer  to  think  of  him  as  he 
appeared  to  the  soldier.  Nor  have  I  any  words  fit  to 
describe  the  gloom  of  the  next  morning.  Incidents  of 
it  I  may  recall. 

The  people  seemed  stunned  by  the  shock.  Then  anger 
was  fierce,  silent,  terrible.  They  were  inclined  to  believe 
the  crime  that  of  the  defeated  Confederates.  That  be- 
lief was  not  true,  and  very  dangerous,  for  a  word  would 
have  turned  them  to  vengeance  against  every  one  of 
doubtful  loyalty.  Without  any  call,  and  moved  by  im- 
pulse, they  packed  Wall  Street  from  above  the  Sub- 
Treasury  to  a  point  below  the  Custom  House  —  a  silent, 
fierce,  angry  crowd.  One  man  was  struck  to  the  pave- 
ment, and  would  have  been  torn  in  pieces  if  the  police 
had  not  thrust  him  into  a  basement  and  guarded  the 
door.  He  had  spoken  disrespectfully  of  Lincoln. 
"  Here  is  one  who  will  tell  us  about  Lincoln !  "  shouted 
a  well-known  citizen.  The  person  referred  to  was  an 
officer  of  the  Treasury.  He  was  caught  up  and  passed 
over  the  heads  of  the  crowd  to  the  ledge  of  an  open  win- 
dow, whence  he  essayed  to  speak  fitting  memorial  words 
of  Lincoln.  "He  was  murdered  by  a  rebel  spy!"  ex- 
claimed an  angry  voice.  "  Don't  you  believe  it!  "  said 
the  speaker.  "The  Confederates  know  the  value  to 
them  of  the  kind  heart  of  Lincoln ;  —  they  are  not  mur- 
derers !  This  assassin  was  either  a  fool  or  a  madman !  " 
"If  he  was  we  shall  never  know  it,  for  he  has  escaped," 
said  a  voice.  "  He  has  not  escaped !  "  said  the  speaker. 
"He  might  as  well  hope  to  escape  death  and  the  grave. 
The  earth  has  no  asylum  for  such  an  assassin,  no  cave 
in  which  he  can  hide.  Every  emancipated  slave  in  the 
State  to  which  he  has  fled  will  be  a  detective;  every 


150  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN". 

decent  white  man  his  betrayer.  Do  not  forget  that  he 
is  a  madman  j  I  repeat  it,  a  madman.  The  South  is  re- 
sponsible for  many  lives,  but,  thank  the  Almighty,  not 
for  this  one.  Let  us  set  an  example  before  the  world, 
and,  while  we  mourn  our  terrible  calamity,  cry  with  the 
Psalmist,  '0  God,  to  whom  vengeance  belongeth,  show 
thyself. '  " 

There  was  no  outbreak;  but  a  word  of  disrespect  for 
Lincoln  the  people  would  not  hear.  A  saloon  proprietor 
tried  it.  His  customers  wrecked  his  saloon  and  beat  him 
to  insensibility.  In  a  leading  hotel  the  servants,  from 
the  chief  clerk  to  the  bootblacks,  struck  work  until  the 
housekeeper  was  put  out  of  it.  She  had  spoken  con- 
temptuously of  "old  Lincoln." 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  man  of  the  people.  The 
people  knew  and  loved  him.  That  was  a  triumphal 
rather  than  a  funeral  procession  which  bore  him  from 
the  Capital  to  his  final  rest,  near  his  Springfield  home. 
Since  it  passed  there  has  been  no  hour  in  which  he  has 
not  grown  in  the  public  esteem.  We  celebrate  his  birth- 
day, and  soon  shall  make  it  a  national  holiday,  so  that 
the  Preserver  shall  have  equal  honors  with  the  Father 
of  his  country.  The  time  is  not  distant  when  the  history 
of  the  life  and  times  of  Lincoln  will  be  taught  in  our 
public  schools. 

New  York  City. 


GOD  IN  LINCOLN. 

LINCOLN     IN     NEW    ORLEANS  —  ATTENDS     A    SLAVE 

AUCTION. 

BY  DAVID  GEEGG,  D.D., 
Pastor  of  the  Lafayette  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  Brooklyn. 

God  works  through  persons.  This  is  his  invariable 
law.  He  links  a  man  or  a  woman  to  his  purposes  as 
a  co-worker.  Moses  must  superintend  the  Exodus. 
Deborah  must  lead  his  armies.  Cyrus  must  issue  the 
decree  for  the  return  of  his  captives.  The  twelve 
Apostles  must  act  as  the  witnesses  of  his  Son.  Thus  it 
is  in  the  history  inside  the  lids  of  the  sacred  Book,  and 
thus  it  is  in  the  history  outside  the  lids  of  the  sacred 
Book.  Luther  must  be  the  head  and  front  of  the  Eefor- 
mation  in  Germany.  John  Knox  must  be  soul  of  the 
Beformation  in  Scotland.  Wesley  must  break  the  eccle- 
siastical shackles  in  England.  Abraham  Lincoln  must 
pen  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  in  the  United  States 
of  America.  If  God's  truth  is  to  succeed,  it  must  incar- 
nate itself.  If  God's  cause  is  to  win  a  victory,  it  must 
embody  himself  in  a  person.  There  is  no  substitute  for 
whole-souled  consecrated  persons.  Without  them  liberty 
perishes  from  the  earth,  and  abstract  truth  is  simply 
principle  on  paper,  a  thing  of  cold  type. 

While  God  works  through  persons,  yet  something  is 
requisite   upon  the  part  of  those  through  whom   God 

151 


152  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

works.  In  order  to  success,  it  is  requisite  that  those 
through  God's  works  should  be  possessed  by  his  pur- 
poses, and  should  be  all  on  fire  with  his  divine  princi- 
ples. Elijah,  the  Prophet  of  Fire,  succeeded;  but  he 
succeeded  because  the  whole  man  was  in  his  mission. 
The  half  of  Elijah  would  have  failed.  Abraham  Lincoln 
succeeded;  but  everybody  knows  that  his  heart  was  with 
the  slave.  The  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  not  a 
sudden  growth.  It  was  not  an  accident.  It  was  evolved 
from  the  nature  of  the  man.  Some  one  has  taken  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation  and  has  deftly  arranged  its 
words  so  that  they  form  an  accurate  profile  of  Abraham 
Lincoln's  face.  The  picture  is  perfect,  and  not  a  letter 
of  the  Proclamation  is  wanting.  This  rightly  represents 
things  as  they  are.  The  man  and  the  liberty  which  he 
proclaimed  are  one  and  inseparable.  If  we  could  see 
into  the  soul  of  the  man,  we  should  find  that  the  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation  was  but  a  transcript  of  that  which 
was  deepest  and  most  vital  there. 

Charles  Carleton  Coffin  tells  us  in  his  history  that 
when  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  young  man,  he  built  a 
raft  for  his  employer  and  took  a  cargo  of  produce  down 
the  Mississippi  Eiver  to  the  market  of  New  Orleans. 
After  he  had  sold  the  cargo,  he  and  a  fellow-boatman 
sauntered  through  the  slave  mart,  where  the  Southern 
planters  had  gathered  to  buy  and  sell  slaves.  Black 
men  and  women  and  children  were  arranged  in  rows 
against  the  wall  for  inspection.  The  auctioneer  pro- 
claimed their  good  qualities  as  he  would  those  of  a  horse 
or  mule.  Some  of  the  blacks  were  Christians,  and  their 
Christianity  was  proclaimed  as  among  their  good  quali- 
ties, which  ought  to  command  a  higher  figure  in  the 
market;    it   made   them   more  conscientious  and  trust- 


GOD  IN  LINCOLN.  153 

worthy  as  workers.  Again  and  again  the  hammer  of  the 
auctioneer  fell,  and  husbands  and  wives  were  separated 
forever,  and  children  were,  there  and  then,  doomed  never 
again  to  look  into  the  faces  of  father  and  mother.  That 
scene  in  the  auction  room  set  the  blood  of  Lincoln  on 
fire.  His  lips  quivered  and  his  voice  choked  in  his 
throat,  as  he  turned  to  his  fellow-boatman,  and  said: 
"  If  I  ever  get  a  chance  to  hit  that  thing,  Iivill  hit  it  hard, 
by  the  Eternal  God."  Who  is  he  to  hit  the  "thing"  a 
blow?  He  is  only  a  boatman,  a  splitter  of  rails,  a 
teamster,  a  backwoodsman.  Nothing  more.  His  pov- 
erty is  so  deep  that  his  clothes  are  in  tatters.  What 
position  of  influence  or  power  is  he  likely  to  attain  to 
enable  him  to  strike  a  blow?  The  "thing"  which  he 
would  like  to  hit  is  incorporated  into  the  framework  of 
society,  and  legalized  in  half  the  States  composing  the 
Republic.  It  is  intrenched  in  Church  and  State  alike. 
It  is  a  political  force,  recognized  in  the  Constitution,  and 
it  enters  into  the  basis  of  representation.  Is  there  the 
remotest  probability  that  he  will  ever  be  able  to  smite 
such  an  institution?  Why  utter  these  words?  Why 
raise  the  right  hand  toward  Heaven  and  swear  a  solemn 
oath?  Was  it  some  dim  vision  of  what  might  come  to 
him  through  divine  Providence  in  the  unfolding  years? 
Was  it  an  illumination  of  the  Spirit  forecasting  for  the 
moment  the  impending  conflict  between  right  and  wrong 
in  which  he  was  to  take  a  conspicuous  part?  Was  it  a 
whisper  by  a  divine  messenger  that  he  was  to  be  the 
chosen  one  to  wipe  the  "  thing  "  from  the  earth,  and  give 
deliverance  to  millions  of  his  fellow-men?  Was  it  not 
rather  the  mind  and  heart  and  power  of  God  planted 
deep  in  the  depths  of  his  very  being,  and  abiding  there 
with  a  holy  impatience,  waiting  for  the  clock  of  destiny 


154  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

to  strike?  You  may  answer  these  questions  as  you 
please ;  but  these  are  the  facts  of  history.  The  hour  of 
the  nation  came,  and  with  it  the  golden  moment  for  the 
slave.  Then  it  was  that  the  very  same  hand  that  was 
lifted  in  solemn  oath  before  God  in  the  New  Orleans 
slave  mart  took  up  the  God-inspired  pen  of  liberty,  and 
dashed  off  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  which  wrote 
out  of  existence  the  American  slave,  and  the  American 
slave  mart,  and  the  American  slave  master. 

That  was  an  act  worthy  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  the 
act  of  Jesus  Christ;  for  it  was  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ 
that  filled  the  man  with  power  and  that  found  an  outlet 
in  American  history  through  the  personality  and  pen  of 
Abraham  Lincoln. 

I  remember  that  day  well.  It  was  the  most  thrilling 
day  I  have  ever  known.  It  was  a  day  full  of  magnifi- 
cent music.  I  shall  never  hear  music  more  thrilling 
than  the  clink  of  the  links  of  those  four  million  of  slave 
chains,  as  link  struck  link  when  the  chains  were  snapped 
into  a  thousand  parts  beyond  all  hope  of  ever  again 
being  welded  together.  The  harps  of  gold,  struck  by 
celestial  hands,  cannot  make  sweeter  music. 


LINCOLN'S   KINDNESS   OF  HEART. 

PLEADING  FOR  A  DESERTER. 
BY  JOHN  D.  KEKNAN,  ESQ. 

A  story  my  father,  the  Hon.  Francis  Kernan,  used  to 
tell  illustrates  Lincoln's  kindness  of  heart.  When  my 
father  was  a  member  of  Congress,  during  the  War,  a 
woman  came  to  him  one  day  and  said  that  her  husband 
had  been  captured  as  a  deserter  and  she  wanted  my 
father  to  go  and  see  the  President  about  the  matter. 

So  the  next  morning  he  called  on  Mr.  Lincoln.  He 
found  him  very  much  occupied,  but,  sending  in  word 
that  it  was  an  urgent  matter,  the  President  saw  him. 
My  father  gave  the  President  the  facts  in  the  case.  It 
seems  that  the  man  had  been  absent  a  year  from  his 
family  and,  without  leave,  had  gone  home  to  see  them. 
On  his  way  back  to  the  army  he  was  arrested  as  a 
deserter  and  sentenced  to  be  shot.  The  sentence  was  to 
be  carried  out  that  very  day.  The  wife  had  come  on 
to  intercede  for  her  husband. 

The  President  listened  attentively,  becoming  more 
and  more  interested  in  the  story.  Finally  he  said: 
"Why,  Kernan,  of  course  this  man  wanted  to  see  his 
family;  and  they  oughtn't  to  shoot  him  for  that."  So 
he  immediately  rang  his  bell,  called  his  secretary  and 
gave  him  orders  to  send  off  telegrams  suspending  the 
sentence  and  ordering  the  record  of  the  case  to  be  sent  to 

155 


156  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

him.  As  he  went  on  dictating  to  his  secretary  he  became 
more  and  more  anxious  about  the  matter.  He  exclaimed : 
"For  God's  sake,  get  that  off  just  as  quick  as  you  can, 
or  they  will  shoot  this  man  in  spite  of  me !  "  The  result 
was  that  the  man  got  a  pardon  and  took  his  place  again 
in  the  army. 

At  the  time  my  father  was  pleading  for  the  man,  Lin- 
coln at  first  said :  "  I  don't  know,  Kernan.  It  is  very 
hard  for  me  to  interfere  in  these  matters.  Here  is 
General  So-and-So  and  General  So-and-So,  and  they  all 
insist  that  I  am  interfering  with  the  discipline  of  the 
army,  destroying  its  efficiency;  but,"  said  he,  "I  can't 
help  it.  Here  is  a  man  who  just  went  home  to  see  his 
wife  and  children  and  they  caught  him  on  his  way  back 
to  the  army.  I  don't  think  he  ought  to  be  shot  for  that, 
and  I'm  going  to  interfere."  And,  as  I  have  just  stated, 
he  did. 

New  York  City. 


A  TELEGRAPHER'S   REMINISCENCE. 

LINCOLN  IN  THE  TELEGRAPH  OFFICE— THE  NOMI- 
NATION OF  ANDREW  JOHNSON  —  MR.  LINCOLN'S 
FEARS. 

BY  CHARLES  A.  TINKER,  ESQ., 
Superintendent  Eastern  Division  "Western  Union  Telegraph  Co. 

My  acquaintance  with  the  martyred  President  began 
thirty-eight  years  ago,  in  the  spring  of  1857,  when  I  was 
a  telegraph  operator  at  Pekin,  a  small  town  in  Illinois, 
ten  miles  south  of  Peoria.  The  telegraph  office  was 
located  in  the  Tazewell  House,  the  principal  hotel  of  the 
place,  and  the  favorite  resort  for  lawyers  and  persons 
who  had  business  in  the  court  which  was  held  in  the 
town. 

Even  at  that  time  Mr.  Lincoln  was  familiarly  known 
as  "Old  Abe,"  and  was  noticeable  on  account  of  his 
peculiar  appearance  and  personal  characteristics.  He 
was  then  a  practising  lawyer,  living  in  Springfield,  the 
capital  of  the  State.  He  was  a  great  story-teller,  and 
many  a  time,  at  the  evening  gatherings  in  the  office, 
kept  his  small  but  appreciative  audience  in  fits  of  laugh- 
ter as  he  told  a  quaint  anecdote  to  illustrate  some  point 
in  an  argument  or  some  experience  in  daily  life. 

The  first  time  he  ever  spoke  to  me  was  when,  one  after- 
noon, he  came  to  my  office  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  and, 
looking  over  the  tall  railing,   said:   "Mr.   Operator,   I 

157 


158  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

have  always  had  a  curiosity  to  see  the  telegraph  work. 
You  don't  seem  to  be  very  busy,  and  as  I  have  a  half- 
hour  or  so  to  wait  for  dinner,  I  wonder  if  you  would  not 
explain  it  to  me."  I  replied:  "Certainly,  sir,  I  should 
be  pleased  to  do  so  ";  and,  inviting  him  inside  the  gate, 
I  proceeded  to  show  him  the  "working  of  the  telegraph," 
explained  the  battery  and  its  connection  to  the  instru- 
ments, and  the  wires  leading  thence  out  of  the  window 
and  away  to  the  world  without.  I  was  encouraged  by 
the  readiness  with  which  he  comprehended  it  all.  He 
seemed  to  grasp  its  intricacies,  and  remarked:  "How 
simple  it  is  when  you  know  it  all!  " 

In  the  fall  of  1861,  I  entered  the  service  of  the  United 
States  Military  Telegraph,  and  was  assigned  to  the  office 
in  the  War  Department  at  Washington.  Here  I  fre- 
quently saw  the  President  passing  in  and  out  of  the 
Department  and  on  the  streets,  but  was  soon  transferred 
to  the  field  corps,  and  then  only  saw  him  as  he  occasion- 
ally visited  the  army.  I  have  seen  him  riding  with 
General  McClellan  and  his  staff  at  review,  and  it  was  a 
comical  sight.  On  horseback  his  figure  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  huge  clothespin  on  a  line,  his  long  legs  dang- 
ling at  the  sides  of  the  animal,  and  his  pantaloons  climb- 
ing to  his  knees ;  his  silk  hat  on  the  back  of  his  head, 
and  his  body  doubled  up  and  pounding  the  saddle  in  his 
frantic  efforts  to  "  keep  up  with  the  procession  "  and  to 
maintain  the  dignity  of  the  Chief  Magistrate.  Later  on, 
however,  he  became,  by  experience,  a  better  horseman, 
and  it  was  a  daily  treat  to  see  him  ride  by  my  house 
with  his  own  body  guard,  as  he  passed  to  and  fro  between 
the  White  House  and  Soldiers'  Home,  his  summer  resi- 
dence, sitting  with  ease  and  raising  his  hat  to  acquaint- 
ances whom  he  met. 


A    TELEGRAPHER'S  REMINISCENCE.  159 

In  1862,  when  I  was  a  cipher  operator  in  the  War 
Department,  Mr.  Lincoln  often  visited  the  office  and 
was  always  affable  and  courteous,  sometimes  even  famil- 
iar, in  his  intercourse  with  the  attaches  of  the  office. 
He  did  not  recognize  me  as  the  young  telegraph  operator 
he  had  met  in  the  West,  nor  did  I  make  my  identity 
known  until,  on  one  occasion,  when  he  was  telling  a 
story  to  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  and  some  prominent 
army  officers.  He  tried  to  recall  the  name  of  a  certain 
man  in  Illinois  whom  I  had  known  very  well.  It  seemed 
to  annoy  him  very  much  that  he  could  not  remember  the 
name.  With  some  trepidation  I  ventured  to  say :  "  Mr. 
President,  permit  me  to  suggest;  was  it  not  Judge  Puter- 
bough?"  He  turned  upon  me  with  a  look  of  surprise, 
and  shouted :  "  Why,  yes !  Did  you  know  him?  "  Gain- 
ing confidence,  I  replied:  "Yes,  sir";  and  he  queried, 
"Where  did  you  know  him?"  I  responded  again,  more 
hopefully:  "Down  in  Pekin,  Illinois,  where  I  had  the 
honor  of  explaining  to  the  present  President  of  the 
United  States  the  working  of  the  telegraph,  in  the  little 
office  in  the  Tazewell  House."  He  turned  to  his  sur- 
prised audience,  and  exclaimed:  "Well,  isn't  it  funny 
that  we  should  have  met  here?"  and  confirmed  to  them 
how  he  had  first  witnessed  the  working  of  the  telegraph 
in  the  Tazewell  House,  at  Pekin.  Thus  unceremoniously 
had  his  story  been  interrupted;  but  he  soon  gathered  the 
threads  and  mended  its  fabric  with  "the  missing  link," 
Judge  Puterbough,  and  I  resumed  my  duty  gathering 
news  from  the  chaotic  communications  before  me. 

Mr.  Lincoln  not  only  had  a  vast  fund  of  common  sense, 
but  often  illustrated  his  opinions  on  some  subject  by  a 
wise  maxim.  Once,  when  a  trusted  representative  had 
been  sent  to  perform  some  special  service,  and  his  report 


160  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

was  not  entirely  satisfactory,  I  heard  him  remark: 
"When  you  want  a  thing  done  right,  go  do  it  yourself." 
At  another  time,  I  heard  Mr.  Seward  say  to  him,  jok- 
ingly :  "  Mr.  President,  I  hear  you  turned  out  for  a  colored 
woman  on  a  muddy  crossing  the  other  day."  -Mr.  Lin- 
coln laughingly  remarked:  "Did  you?  Well,  I  don't 
remember  it ;  but  I  always  make  it  a  rule,  if  people  don't 
turn  out  for  me,  I  will  for  them.  If  I  didn't  there  would 
be  a  collision."  Another  maxim,  familiar  to  all,  was: 
"Never  stop  to  swap  horses  when  crossing  the  stream." 

His  stories  were  always  told  upon  the  impulse  of  the 
moment,  aroused  by  some  remark  or  incident  of  conversa- 
tion, or  from  what  he  had  read  in  a  message  before  him. 
He  could  not  help  their  ready  flow  from  his  lips,  and 
when  told,  and  he  had  joined  in  the  laughter  which  fol- 
lowed, he  was  as  eager  to  listen  to  something  new,  if  any 
of  his  listeners  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  story  he 
had  not  heard.  But  he  was  a  restless  listener,  and  it  was 
not  often  that  he  gave  way  for  others  to  talk. 

Once  he  received  a  message  from  a  zealous  Irish  soldier, 
with  more  courage  than  brains,  or  he  would  not  have  tele- 
graphed direct  to  the  President,  who  had  been  left  behind 
in  the  retreat  of  the  army  across  the  Potomac  before  the 
advancing  columns  of  Lee's  army,  with  one  gun  of  his 
battery  on  the  bank  of  the  river  below  Edward's  Ferry. 
It  read  about  thus  :  "  I  have  the  whole  rebel  army  in  my 
front.  Send  me  another  gun,  and  I  assure  your  honor  they 
shall  not  come  over."  This  pleased  the  President  greatly, 
and  he  sent  him  an  encouraging  reply,  suggesting  that  he 
report  his  situation  to  his  commanding  officer.  But  I 
suppose  the  poor  fellow  didn't  know  where  to  look  for 
him  then,  and  had  confidence  that  a  message  would  reach 
the  President,  who  was  his  Commander-in-Chief. 


A   TELEGRAPHER'S  REMINISCENCE.  161 

One  Sunday  morning  as  I  was  passing  through  the 
White  House  grounds  toward  the  Department,  I  met  the 
President  coming  from  it.  A  little  way  off,  scraping 
among  the  leaves  under  a  tree,  Major  Johnson,  the  pri- 
vate secretary  of  Mr.  Stanton,  a  man  of  perhaps  thirty- 
five  years,  born  and  brought  up  in  Washington,  and,  so 
far  as  I  know,  never  having  been  outside  the  District  of 
Columbia,  also  on  his  way  to  the  Department,  had  stepped 
aside  to  gather  a  few  horse-chestnuts,  which  abounded 
on  the  grounds.  The  President  called  to  him :  "  Major, 
good-morning.  What  in  the  world  are  you  doing  there  ?  " 
The  Major  turned  quickly,  doffed  his  hat,  scraped  and 
bowed.  "Why,  good-morning,  Mr.  President.  I  was 
just  looking  for  a  few  horse-chestnuts."  "Horse-chest- 
nuts !  "  the  President  exclaimed.  "  Do  you  expect  to  find 
horse-chestnuts  under  a  sycamore  tree  ?  "  Sure  enough, 
he  didn't  know  the  difference.  The  President  laughed 
heartily,  and  nodded  to  me  and  passed  by,  while  I  es- 
corted the  novice  in  chestnutting  to  the  Department, 
quite  chagrined  at  the  President's  discovery  of  his  igno- 
rance. 

At  another  time  the  President  came  into  the  office 
laughing,  and  remarked  that  he  had  just  been  reading  a 
little  book  which  some  one  had  given  his  son,  Tad.  It 
was  a  story  of  a  motherly  hen,  who  was  struggling  to 
raise  her  brood  and  teach  them  to  lead  honest  and  useful 
lives ;  but  in  her  efforts  she  was  greatly  annoyed  by  a 
mischievous  fox,  who  made  sad  havoc  with  her  offspring. 
She  had  given  him  numerous  lectures  on  his  wicked  ways, 
and,  said  the  President,  "  I  thought  I  would  turn  over  to 
the  finis  and  see  how  it  came  out.  This  is  what  it  said : 
'  And  the  fox  became  a  good  fox,  and  was  appointed  pay- 
master in  the  army.'     I  think  it  very  funny  that  I  should 

M 


162  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

have  appointed  him  a  paymaster  in  the  army.     I  wonder 
who  he  is  ?." 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  received  the  news  of  the  nomination 
of  Andrew  Johnson  to  the  Vice-Presidency,  he  was  in  his 
office.  He  read  the  message  carefully,  and  soliloquized 
aloud :  "  Well,  I  thought  possibly  he  might  be  the  man. 
Perhaps  he  is  the  best  man ;  but  —  "  and  rising  from  his 
chair  passed  out  of  the  office,  leaving  me  impressed  with 
the  significance  of  the  unfinished  sentence,  which,  in  the 
light  of  the  subsequent  events,  became  a  thrilling  proph- 
ecy. In  the  discussion  regarding  Lincoln's  preference  for 
Hamlin  or  Johnson  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  I  addressed 
a  note  to  Mr.  Charles  A.  Dana,  reciting  this  incident.  It 
was  published  in  the  Sun,  and  came  to  the  notice  of 
Major  Johnson,  formerly  secretary  to  Mr.  Stanton  —  the 
same  who  figured  in  the  horse-chestnutting  scene  —  and  he 
referred  to  it  in  an  interview  upon  the  subject  published 
in  the  Washington  Star,  in  these  words : 

"Mr.  Tinker  was  a  telegraph  operator  in  the  room  adjoining 
the  office  occupied  by  Secretary  Stanton  ;  and  upon  the  occasion 
referred  to,  as  soon  as  the  President  had  gone,  came  into  the  Secre- 
tary's room  and  told  me  the  entire  story  just  as  he  has  now  told  it 
in  print." 

Further  on: 

"Mr.  Tinker's  reminiscence  is  the  most  striking  contribution  to 
the  literature  of  this  controversy,  and  it  would  be,  in  my  judgment, 
impossible  to  find  a  more  convincing  proof  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
neither  the  author  nor  the  abettor  of  the  Johnson  nomination  than 
that  uncompleted  sentence  as  it  fell  from  his  lips,  drawn  forth  by 
the  sudden  news  from  Baltimore,  '  Perhaps  he  is  the  best  man  ; 
but  —  "' 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  just  man,  but  his  great  heart  always 
leaned  to  the  side  of  mercy.     Many  incidents  are  related 


A    TELEGRAPHER'S  REMINISCENCE.  1G3 

of  this  phase  of  his  character,  but  I  will  only  mention  one. 
I  quote  from  a  letter  written  by  me  to  Maj.-Gen.  George 
H.  Thomas,  of  date  May  23d,  1867 : 

"  General :  —  I  have  had  in  my  possession  since  the  day  it  was 
written  a  telegram  penned  by  our  late  loved  President.  Its  history 
is  this :  Robert  A.  Maxwell,  a  quixotic  individual,  a  resident  of 
Philadelphia,  has,  during  the  War  and  since,  humored  a  propensity 
for  addressing  numerous  dictatorial  and  sensational  dispatches  to 
the  President,  his  Cabinet  and  prominent  officials  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Those  who  are  familiar  with  his  character  give  no  consider- 
ation to  them." 

On  receipt  of  one  of  these  dispatches,  a  copy  of  which  I 
enclose,  as  follows : 

"New  York  City,  September  23d,  1803. 
u  His  Excellency,  A.  Lincoln,  President  United  States  : 

"Will  Buell's  testamentary  executor,  George  Thomas,  ever  let 
Rosecrans  succeed  ?  Is  Bragg  dumb  enough  to  punish  Thomas 
severely  and  disgracingly  ? 

"  (Signed)  Robert  A.  Maxwell. 


n 


President  Lincoln  came  to  the  Department  and  handed 
me  his  reply,  marked  "  Cipher,"  as  follows : 

"  To  Robert  A.  Maxwell,  New  York  : 

"  I  hasten  to  say  that  in  the  state  of  information  we  have  here 
nothing  could  be  more  ungracious  than  to  indulge  any  suspicion 
toward  General  Thomas.  It  is  doubtful  whether  his  heroism  and 
skill  exhibited  last  Sunday  afternoon  has  ever  been  surpassed  in 
the  world.  (Signed)  A.Lincoln." 

He  lingered  in  the  office  while  I  was  preparing  it  for 
transmission,  and  when  nearly  ready  he  remarked  :  "  I 
guess,  on  the  whole,  Mr.  Tinker,  you  need  not  send  that. 
I  will  pay  no  more  attention  to  the  crazy  fellow."     I  put 


164  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

it  into  my  pocket,  and  have  preserved  it  as  a  precious 
autograph.  It  is  a  priceless  tribute  to  a  noble  hero,  whose 
dauntless  courage  on  that  fatal  day  saved  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland.  My  letter-press  copy  of  the  letter  has  this 
note : 

"Delivered  to  him  in  person  at  Willard's  Hotel,  Monday  even- 
ing, May  27th,  1867." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  plain,  modest  man,  having  little 
thought  or  care  for  the  conventionalities  of  life.  He 
would  not  wait  an  introduction  if  he  had  aught  to  say 
to  his  fellow-man.  He  was  easily  approached,  and  gave 
ready  ear  to  any  communication,  but  quickly  manifested 
impatience  if  he  found  it  was  a  subject  without  interest 
to  him.  He  would  frankly  speak  the  truth  and  guide 
the  applicant  or  supplicant,  to  the  proper  department,  or 
dismiss  him  with  words  of  wisdom,  and  resume  his  own 
path  of  duty.  I  hardly  think  there  was  any  member  of 
his  Cabinet  who  enjoyed  listening  to  his  stories,  although 
perhaps  none  of  them  would  manifest  impatience,  except 
Mr.  Stanton.  He  would  never  tell  a  story  himself,  and 
would  not  willingly  spend  his  time  listening  to  others. 
I  have  seen  him  abruptly  leave  the  office  for  his  own 
when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  reminded  of  a  story  and  began  to 
tell  it.  Mr.  Lincoln  paid  no  attention  to  the  slight.  On 
the  contrary,  treating  it  as  a  matter  of  fact  —  a  personal 
trait  of  Mr.  Stanton  for  which  he  was  not  responsible. 
He  often  called  Mr.  Stanton  "Mars"  and  appeared  to 
enjoy  his  discomfort  at  the  fitting  title. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  early  riser,  and  often  reached  the 
office  as  early  as  any  of  the  morning  arrivals.  His  custom 
was  to  come  over  at  least  twice  a  day  —  morning,  and 
evening  after  the  Department  hours  —  and  when  there 


A   TELEGRAPHER'S  REMINISCENCE.  165 

was  anything  of  importance  transpiring  abont  which  he 
was  especially  anxious,  he  was  frequently  at  the  telegraph 
office  till  long  after  midnight.  We  took  three  copies  of 
all  the  important  dispatches  addressed  to  the  Secretary 
of  War,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  General  of  the  Army,  or 
to  the  President.  The  hard  copy  for  the  official  files,  and 
two  tissue  copies,  one  for  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  one 
to  be  retained  in  the  office.  This  retained  copy  was  put 
in  a  little  drawer  on  top  of  the  cipher  operators'  desk, 
handy  for  reference,  and  accessible  to  the  Secretary  or 
President.  Mr.  Lincoln  went  direct  to  that  drawer,  took 
out  all  the  copies  and  sat  down  at  the  desk  and  read  the 
dispatches  in  order,  laying  them  on  one  side,  face  down, 
till  he  had  finished  ;  and  returned  them  to  the  drawer  in 
the  same  order.  If  he  came  again  the  same  day,  he  would 
go  through  the  same  operation  until  he  had  reached 
the  previous  pile,  face  down,  when  he  would  remark, 
"  There,  I  have  got  down  to  the  raisins,"  and  replace 
them  in  the  drawer.  His  reference  to  "  the  raisins  "  was 
illustrated  by  his  story  of  the  countryman  who  sat  down 
to  dinner  at  a  city  hotel,  and  undertook  to  get  away  with 
the  entire  bill  of  fare,  and  found  relief  when  he  reached 
the  raisins. 

The  last  time  I  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  was  on  the  afternoon 
of  April  11th,  three  days  prior  to  his  assassination.  He 
came  to  the  office  as  usual  that  afternoon,  and  something 
reminded  him  of  a  story,  and  to  illustrate  the  finale  he 
gathered  his  coattails  under  his  arms  and,  with  about 
three  long  strides,  crossed  the  room  and  passed  out  of 
the  door  with  the  last  words  of  the  story  echoing  from 
his  lips.  That  evening  I  went  home  from  the  office  ill 
with  a  slight  fever  which  prevented  my  resuming  duty 
until   the   early   morning   of  April   15th,   when  I   was 


166  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

aroused  by  loud  voices  in  the  street,  from  which.  I 
gathered  that  the  President  had  been  assassinated.  I 
arose  and  dressed  and  hastily  made  my  way  to  the  office, 
passing  crowds  here  and  there  in  muffled  debate ;  by  Sec- 
retary Seward's  house,  where  a  sentinel  was  pacing  to 
and  fro  ;  on  to  the  War  Department,  where  I  learned  the 
terrible  truth  of  the  ghastly  events  of  the  night  just 
passed.  My  brief  journal  of  that  date  contains  their 
narrative,  with  this  reference : 

"  Departments  are  closed  and  being  draped  in  mourning.  Our 
office  feels  most  keenly  the  affliction  which  has  thus  been  brought 
to  the  whole  country  in  the  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln;  for  we 
had  learned  to  look  upon  him  in  his  daily  visits  there  almost  as  a 
companion,  while  we  venerated  him  for  his  goodness  as  a  father. 
We  had  no  heart  to  work ;  bitter  tears  flooded  every  eye,  and 
grief  choked  utterance." 

Thus  ends  my  personal  reminiscences  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  It  is  a  blessing  to  have  known  him,  and  still  a 
greater  one  to  have  enjoyed  his  almost  daily  companion- 
ship, as  we  of  the  War  Department  Telegraph  Office  did 
during  his  Presidential  life. 

New  York  City. 


LINCOLN  AND  THE  SLAVE  TRADER  GORDON. 

REFUSING  A  REPRIEVE. 
BY  ETHAN  ALLEN. 

In  1861,  E.  Delafield  Smith  was  United  States  District 
Attorney  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York,  and  I 
was  his  chief  deputy.  One  of  the  first  and  most  im- 
portant trials  in  which  I  participated  was  the  trial  of 
William  Gordon  for  slave  trading.  The  trial  was  long 
and  bitterly  contested,  and  Gordon  was  convicted,  the 
first  conviction  under  the  Slave  Law  that  was  ever  had 
in  the  United  States,  either  North  or  South. 

Gordon  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  by  Judge  Nelson, 
then  the  presiding  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  this 
district.  An  effort  was  immediately  made  to  have  Mr. 
Lincoln  pardon  him,  and  the  effort  was  very  extraor- 
dinary and  powerful  in  influence.  Mr.  Smith,  the  Dis- 
trict Attorney,  hearing  of  this  fact,  deemed  it  his  duty 
(and  he  alone  is  responsible  in  the  matter)  to  go  to 
Washington  and  plead  with  Mr.  Lincoln  against  clem- 
ency. When  he  met  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  he  afterward 
reported  to  me  on  his  return,  Mr.  Lincoln  took  out  from 
his  desk  the  reprieve  already  prepared  and  laid  it  before 
him.  He  picked  up  a  pen,  which  he  held  in  his  hand 
while  he  listened  to  the  argument  of  Mr.  Smith  on  the 
imperative  necessity  of  making  an  example  of  this  man 

167 


168  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Gordon,  in  order  forever  to  terrorize  those  who  were 
engaged  in  this  business. 

Mr.  Xincoln  listened  to  him  very  patiently  and  with  a 
sort  of  wail  of  despair  (as  it  was  afterward  described), 
flourishing  the  pen  over  the  reprieve  he  said :    • 

"  Mr.  Smith,  you  do  not  know  how  hard  it  is  to  have 
a  human  being  die  when  you  know  that  a  stroke  of  your 
pen  may  save  him." 

He  threw  down  the  pen,  however,  and  Gordon  was  ex- 
ecuted in  New  York. 

New  York  City. 


A  THEATKICAL  MANAGEK'S  KEMINISCENCES. 

INTERVIEW     WITH     WILKES     BOOTH— EFFECT    UPON 

EDWIN  BOOTH 

BY  COL.  WILLIAM  E.  SINN, 
Op  the  Park  Theatre,  Brooklyn,  N.  T. 

The  year  after  the  War  broke  out  I  was  the  proprietor 
of  "  Canterbury  Hall/'  in  Washington,  where  vaudeville 
entertainments  were  given.  The  same  year  I  was  asso- 
ciated with  Mr.  Leonard  Grover  in  the  management  of 
the  National  Theatre.  I  remember  that  at  the  matinee 
performances  at  the  "  Canterbury  "  Mr.  Lincoln's  boys  — 
particularly  the  young  one,  "  Tad  "  —  would  often  be  sent 
down  to  see  the  performance.  Mr.  Lincoln  himself  was 
a  frequent  visitor  at  Grover  &  Sinn's  National  Theatre. 
He  always  gave  us  notice  a  day  ahead,  and  we  took  care 
to  have  a  private  box  reserved  for  him.  From  a  busi- 
ness point  of  view,  we  were  only  too  glad  to  have  him 
visit  the  theatre,  because  it  was  a  good  advertisement, 
and  we  would  have  willingly  given  him  complimentary 
tickets ;  but  he  would  firmly  decline  them,  invariably  di- 
recting his  secretary,  or  the  messenger,  to  pay  for  the  box. 

One  peculiar  feature  about  Mr.  Lincoln's  theatre-going 
was  that  he  never  had  the  least  desire  (as  many  theatre- 
goers have)  to  go  behind  the  scenes.  He  used  to  say  that 
to  do  so  would  spoil  the  illusion  surrounding  the  play. 

169 


170  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

When  very  prominent  actors  appeared,  however,  in  whom 
he  was  specially  interested,  Mr.  Lincoln  would  invite  them 
into  his  private  box  between  the  acts,  and  have  a  chat 
with  them.  He  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  drama,  and  was 
particularly  fond  of  comedy.  When  a  good  strong  come- 
dian appeared  at  our  house,  male  or  female,  you  would 
always  find  Mr.  Lincoln  present  at  the  performance, 
unless  sickness  or  extremely  important  business  pre- 
vented his  attendance.  He  came  to  the  "  Canterbury  " 
vaudeville  performance  only  once  or  twice,  but  often  sent 
his  boys  there  to  the  matinees  in  charge  of  some  grown 
person.  He  was  very  democratic  in  his  ways,  always 
had  a  pleasant  word  if  he  happened  to  meet  me  at  the 
entrance  to  the  theatre,  which  he  generally  did,  as  I  had 
charge  of  the  front  of  the  house.  On  one  occasion  he 
glanced  over  the  auditorium,  the  theatre  was  crowded. 
"Ah ! "  he  exclaimed,  " I  guess  this  business  will  pay." 

At  the  time  the  President  was  assassinated  I  (or  rather 
the  firm  of  G-rover  &  Sinn)  was  running  the  Chestnut 
Street  Theatre  in  Philadelphia.  Three  or  four  days  be- 
fore the  assassination,  Wilkes  Booth  was  in  Philadelphia 
on  his  way  to  Washington.  I  was  very  well  acquainted 
with  him.  He  told  me  he  was  going  to  Washington  to  play 
for  a  benefit.  I  think  the  benefit  of  Miss  Susan  Denin. 
Through  some  misunderstanding  the  benefit  was  post- 
poned. After  the  tragedy  at  Ford's  Theatre,  it  was 
thought  that  on  the  occasion  of  Miss  Denin's  benefit, 
when  the  President  was  almost  certain  to  be  present, 
Booth  would  have  attempted  to  assassinate  the  Chief 
Magistrate. 

The  last  time  I  saw  Wilkes  Booth  was  at  the  stage 
door  of  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  at 
about  ten  o'clock  at  night.     He  was  going  to  take  the 


A   THEATRICAL  MANAGER'S  REMINISCENCES.       Ill 

train  in  an  honr  for  Washington.  On  that  same  after- 
noon I  had  seen  him  and  been  with  him  for  fully  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  had  walked  down  Chestnut  Street 
with  him,  and  left  him  to  lunch  with  Miss  Kate  Pen- 
noyer,  an  actress  now  retired  from  the  stage.  When  I 
bade  him  good  by  he  made  a  remark  that  I  quickly  re- 
called as  soon  as  I  heard  of  the  assassination :  "  You  will 
hear  from  me  in  Washington,"  he  said.  "  I  am  going  to 
make  a  hit."  The  term  "  hit "  in  theatrical  parlance 
means  a  success.  I  said :  "  Good  luck  to  you.  You  are 
a  pretty  good  sort  of  an  actor ;  I  guess  you  will."  The 
next  thing  I  heard  of  Booth  was  the  terrible  news  that 
he  had  killed  President  Lincoln. 

Of  course,  after  the  assassination  there  was  a  close  and 
careful  examination  as  to  Booth's  antecedents  and  his 
movements  just  before  the  dreadful  tragedy.  It  seems 
that  during  his  few  days'  stay  in  Philadelphia  he  was 
seen  a  great  deal  in  the  company  of  Matt  Canning  (since 
deceased),  at  that  time  manager  of  Mme.  Vestvali,  who 
was  playing  then  at  Mrs.  John  Drew's  Arch  Street 
Theatre.  He  stopped  over  in  Baltimore  on  his  way  to 
Washington,  and  there  he  was  often  seen  in  the  company 
of  John  T.  Ford,  then  the  manager  of  the  Halliday  Street 
Theatre,  Baltimore,  and  of  Ford's  Theatre,  Washington, 
the  scene  of  the  assassination.  After  the  assassination 
Mr.  Ford  was  arrested  on  the  belief  that,  having  been 
seen  with  Booth  so  shortly  before  the  event,  he  might 
know  something  about  it.  But  the  fact  was  that  he  knew 
no  more  about  it  than  a  child.  But  he  was  arrested  and 
incarcerated  in  the  Old  Capitol  prison,  Washington.  Matt 
Canning  was  also  arrested  in  Philadelphia.  I  was  very 
much  scared  myself,  for  I  had  been  seen  with  Booth  on 
Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  and  had  been  in  his  com- 


172  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

pany  much,  of  the  time  during  his  stay  in  the  city.  I 
escaped  arrest,  however,  but  I  passed  several  sleepless 
nights  and  days  of  worriment  thinking  over  the  matter. 
In  fact,  I  tried  to  persuade  myself  that  I  did  not  know 
Booth.  When  questioned  in  regard  to  the  subject  my 
memory  was  a  blank.  Mr.  Ford  and  Mr.  Canning  were, 
of  course,  exonerated  from  any  knowledge  of  the  sad 
affair. 

I  was  spending  the  evening  with  some  friends  on  the 
night  of  the  assassination  —  Good  Friday  night.  As  I 
was  returning  home  about  twelve  o'clock,  walking  down 
Chestnut  Street,  I  saw  signs  of  great  excitement ;  crowds 
were  running  along  the  street.  I  thought  there  was  a 
big  fire  ;  but  I  soon  learned  the  news,  that  Abraham  Lin- 
coln had  been  assassinated,  killed  by  Wilkes  Booth,  the 
man  I  had  been  chatting  with  pleasantly  but  a  few  days, 
you  might  say  a  few  hours,  before. 

Within  three  or  four  days  there  was  a  great  hue  and 
cry  raised  against  not  only  the  actor,  but  actors  and  the- 
atrical people  in  general.  "An  actor  had  assassinated 
the  President !  "  I  can  truly  say  that  I  do  not  know  of 
any  class  of  people  in  the  community  at  that  time  who 
were  more  greatly  shocked  or  more  deeply  grieved  than 
the  members  of  the  theatrical  profession.  Whatever  the 
faults  of  actors  may  be  (and  they  have  their  faults  like 
the  rest  of  the  human  race),  they  are  not  given  to  deeds 
of  violence.  So  far  from  being  predisposed  to  such 
crimes,  they  are  brought  up  to  an  art  which  views  the 
events  of  history  only  on  their  pathetic  or  their  scenic 
side.  They  are  philosophers  of  life,  endeavoring  to  por- 
tray it,  rather  than  to  take  part  in  the  political  or  social 
struggles  of  the  age.  Many  well-meaning,  but  narrow- 
minded  persons,  however,  after  the  assassination,  could 


A    THEATRICAL  MANAGER'S  REMINISCENCES.      173 

not  say  anything  too  bad  about  actors  and  the  theatre. 
They  were  particularly  severe  in  their  allusions  to 
Edwin  Booth,  the  distinguished  tragedian,  brother  of 
the  assassin,  who  probably  suffered  more  mental  torture 
from  the  cruel  act  of  his  unnatural  relative  than  did  any 
one  else  in  the  country,  outside  of  the  President's  own 
family.  Edwin  Booth  was  so  overcome  that  he  retired 
from  the  stage  temporarily,  and  it  was  many  months 
before  he  appeared  in  a  theatre  before  an  audience. 

Edwin  Booth  never  played  in  Washington  City  from 
the  time  of  the  assassination  until  his  death.  Theatrical 
managers  offered  him  the  most  fabulous  prices  to  go 
there,  but  he  had  made  a  resolution  that  he  would  never 
play  at  the  Capital  of  the  nation,  so  intimately  associated 
with  his  brother's  terrible  crime ;  and  he  kept  this  reso- 
lution until  the  day  of  his  death. 

But  the  honors  shown  Edwin  Booth  in  his  later  years, 
and  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  all  classes  of 
the  community,  did  something  to  atone  for  the  cruel  and 
thoughtless  treatment  he  received  at  the  hands  of  some 
prejudiced  and  ignorant  persons  soon  after  the  tragedy. 

Numerous  rewards  were  promptly  offered  for  the  capt- 
ure of  Wilkes  Booth.  I  added  $500  to  the  reward  that 
was  offered  in  Philadelphia,  and  promptly  did  what  I 
could  to  show  that  the  members  of  the  dramatic  profes- 
sion were  not  in  sympathy  with  Wilkes  Booth,  and 
looked  with  horror  upon  his  terrible  crime. 

The  advertisement  which  I  inserted  in  the  Philadelphia 
newspapers  was  as  follows : 

"$500  Reward. — The  undersigned  will  add  to  the  reward 
offered  by  the  Government  and  municipal  authorities  the  sum  of 
Five  Hundred  Dollars  for  the  arrest  of  John  Wilkes  Booth, 
the  assassin  of  our  late  beloved  President.     I  have  no  doubt  but 


174  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  will  be  raised  to  further  this 

really  necessary  object  by  the  different  Managers.     In  offering 

this  reward  I  feel  it  my  conscientious  duty  to  aid  to  the  utmost 

in  bringing  this  atrocious  murderer  to  justice.     I  feel  convinced 

that  every  Manager  in  the  land  will  second  this  object,  and  take 

the  same  view  of  the  case.     As  this  crime  was  committed  in  one 

of  our  principal  theatres,  we  should  endeavor  to  use  our  utmost 

ability  in  an  object  of  so  much  importance   to  every  American 

citizen. 

"  William  E.  Sinn,  for  Grover  &  Sinn." 

It  was  not  long  before  theatrical  people  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  put  themselves  before  the  public  in  their 
proper  light,  condemning  the  crime,  both  in  public  and  in 
private,  both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South,  showing 
that,  so  far  as  the  members  of  their  profession  were  con- 
cerned, there  had  been  no  collusion  in  the  matter,  and 
that  the  crime  had  been  committed  by  John  Wilkes 
Booth  in  a  false  and  cruel  spirit  of  devotion  to  the 
South. 

I  think  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  was  the 
severest  blow  the  South  could  have  had.  Certainly  the 
act  was  not  endorsed  by  the  thinking  men  in  the  South. 
So  far  from  its  being  a  benefit  to  the  South,  it  put  back 
reconstruction  fully  ten  or  fifteen  years. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


SOME    TEAITS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABEAHAM 

LINCOLN. 

HIS  SELF-CONTROL;  HIS  FORESIGHT;  HIS  SYMPATHY. 

BY  WAYLAND  HOYT,  D.D. 

Consider  the  singular  self-control  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
The  scene  is  Washington.  The  time  is  a  few  days  before 
Mr.  Lincoln's  first  inauguration.  Mr.  Lincoln  has  been 
in  Washington  scarcely  twenty-four  hours.  The  night 
before  he  has  eluded  the  desperate  plot  to  assassinate 
him  in  Baltimore  by  passing  through  that  city  at  an 
unexpected  hour  and  in  an  unheralded  way.  Washington 
is  throbbing  and  tumultuous  with  excitement.  Rumors 
of  all  sorts  are  thick  and  clashing.  Every  hour  is  por- 
tentous with  uncertainty.  The  ship  is  about  to  change 
captains,  but  amid  the  threatenings  of  a  storm  such  as 
has  never  before  growled  and  muttered  and  flashed  in 
the  horizon.  The  so-called  Peace  Congress  is  in  session, 
helplessly  seeking  some  way  to  still  the  storm.  It  is 
proposed,  with  very  grumbling  grace  on  the  part  of  many 
of  the  members  of  it  who  have  disloyal  hearts  and  pro- 
slavery  sympathies,  to  pay  a  visit  on  this  evening  to  the 
President-elect.  Though  such  members  splutter  and 
object,  they  cannot  well  refuse  such  evident  proprieties 
of  the  moment.  But  with  very  different  ceremony  from 
that  with  which  they  had  waited  on  President  Buchanan 

175 


176  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

a  little  time  before  —  -with  reluctance,  carelessness,  in 
some  cases  with  angry  rudeness,  they  enter  the  parlor  of 
the  hotel  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln  is  quietly  awaiting  them. 
If  any  one  wishes  to  study  one  of  the  most  eminent 
instances  of  self-control  in  history,  let  him  carefully  read 
the  description  of  this  scene  in  Mr.  Chittenden's  "  Recol- 
lections  of  President  Lincoln  and  His  Administration." 
It  is  too  long  to  rehearse  here,  but  there  are  few  as 
fascinating  pages  in  any  literature. 

Here  is  the  gaunt,  queer,  homely,  towering  man,  just 
escaped  a  dastardly  attempt  upon  his  life,  standing  amid 
utterly  untried  circumstances,  confronted  with  problems 
such  as  had  never  massed  themselves  before  an  Ameri- 
can statesman,  in  environment  where  an  unguarded  word 
might  be  a  match  to  a  magazine,  an  ill-considered  gest- 
ure, even,  the  cause  of  an  explosion,  maligned  and  hated 
by  multitudes,  surrounded  in  this  parlor  by  many  men 
scowling  with  criticism,  glad  to  trip  him,  hot  with  anger 
at  his  election,  some  determined  already  to  band  them- 
selves into  rebellion  against  him,  soon  to  be  the  constitu- 
tional head  of  the  Republic  —  and  he,  this  plain  man, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  with  never  a  quiver  in  his  voice,  nor 
a  touch  of  paleness  on  his  gaunt  cheek,  nor  the  slightest 
cadence  of  irritation  in  his  tone,  the  steady  master  of 
himself,  these  men,  the  whole  occasion.  Says  Mr.  Chit- 
tenden : 

' '  It  was  reserved  for  the  delegation  from  New  York  to  call  out 
from  Mr.  Lincoln  his  first  expression  touching  the  great  contro- 
versy of  the  hour.  He  had  exchanged  remarks  with  ex-Governor 
King,  Judge  James,  TVilliam  Curtis  Noyes  and  Francis  Granger. 
William  E.  Dodge  had  stood  awaiting  his  turn.  As  soon  as  his 
opportunity  came,  he  raised  his  voice  enough  to  be  heard  by  all 
present,  and,  addressing  Mr.  Lincoln,  declared  that  the  whole 
country  in  great  anxiety  was  awaiting  his  inaugural  address,  and 


TRAITS  AND  SAYINGS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.      Ill 

then  added :  '  It  is  for  you,  sir,  to  say  whether  the  whole  nation 
shall  be  plunged  into  bankruptcy  ;  whether  the  grass  shall  grow 
in  the  streets  of  our  commercial  cities.' 

"  '  Then  I  say  it  shall  not,'  Mr.  Lincoln  answered,  with  a  merry 
twinkle  in  his  eye.  '  If  it  depends  upon  me,  the  grass  will  not 
grow  anywhere  except  in  the  fields  and  the  meadows.' 

"  '  Then  you  will  yield  to  the  just  demands  of  the  South.  You 
will  leave  her  to  control  her  own  institutions.  You  will  admit 
slave  States  into  the  Union  on  the  same  conditions  as  free  States. 
You  will  not  go  to  war  on  account  of  slavery.' 

UA  sad  but  stern  expression  swept  over  Mr.  Lincoln's  face. 
*  I  do  not  know  that  I  understand  your  meaning,  Mr.  Dodge,'  he 
said,  without  raising  his  voice  ;  '  nor  do  I  know  what  my  acts  or 
my  opinions  may  be  in  the  future,  beyond  this.  If  I  shall  ever 
come  to  the  great  office  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  I 
shall  take  an  oath.  I  shall  swear  that  I  will  faithfully  execute 
the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  of  all  the  United 
States,  and  that  I  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  pro- 
tect and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  This  is  a 
great  and  solemn  duty.  With  the  support  of  the  people  and  the 
assistance  of  the  Almighty  I  shall  undertake  to  perform  it.  It  is 
not  the  Constitution  as  I  would  like  to  have  it,  but  as  it  is,  that 
is  to  be  defended.  The  Constitution  will  not  be  preserved  and 
defended  until  it  is  enforced  and  obeyed  in  every  part  of  every 
one  of  the  United  States.  It  must  be  so  respected,  obeyed,  en- 
forced and  defended,  let  the  grass  grow  where  it  may.'  " 

Silence  fell.  Dispute  was  impossible.  No  one  could 
gainsay  the  weight  and  balanced  justice  of  the  words. 
They  were  entirely  unpremeditated.  But  they  fell  and 
fitted  as  the  light  does.  Mr.  Lincoln's  superb  yet  gra- 
cious self-control  had  won.  And  this  self-control,  so 
splendidly  shining  here,  kept  shining  on  through  all  the 
day  of  turmoil  which  had  to  follow.  Ah,  the  strong  and 
patient  heart !  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as 
the  sun,  the  Saviour  promises.  How  the  promise  is  already 
true  for  him,  as,  looking  back  upon  the  chaos  and  the 

N 


178  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

darkness  of  those  awful  years,  the  hold  of  a  tender  but 
unremitting  self-control  glorifies  the  sad  face  of  Abraham 
Lincoln. 

Consider  the  strange  prevision  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
How  could  he  know  so  well  and  so  much  ?  It  was  Mr. 
Lincoln  who  believed  in  armored  vessels  like  the  "  Moni- 
tor." It  was  because  of  his  suggestion  and  insistence 
that  the  experiment  of  them  was  tried.  While  the 
battle  was  clashing  between  the  "Merrimac"  and  the 
"  Monitor  "  some  one  said :  "  Would  it  not  be  fortunate  if 
the  '  Monitor '  should  sink  her  ?  "  "  It  would  be  nothing 
more  than  I  have  expected/'  calmly  observed  President 
Lincoln.  "If  she  does  not,  something  else  will.  Many 
providential  things  are  happening  in  this  war,  and  this 
may  be  one  of  them.  The  loss  of  two  good  ships  is  an 
expensive  lesson,  but  it  will  teach  us  all  the  value  of 
ironclads.  I  have  not  believed  at  any  time  during  the 
last  twenty-four  hours  that  the  '  Merrimac '  would  go 
right  on  destroying  right  and  left  without  any  obstruc- 
tion. Since  we  knew  that  the  '  Monitor '  had  got  there, 
I  have  felt  that  she  was  the  vessel  we  wanted."  And 
she  was  the  vessel  wanted.  The  noteworthy  thing  is 
the  prevision  of  this  plain  man  who  had  never  navi- 
gated anything  himself  beyond  a  Mississippi  flatboat, 
that  vessels  of  this  sort  were  the  ones  to  do  the  business. 
And  this  against  the  conviction  of  the  1ST  aval  Department. 
How  strangely  he  knew  —  this  countryman  from  Spring- 
field, 111.!  How  his  glances  pierced!  Well,  I  think  if 
ever  a  man  were  divinely  illumined  and  divinely  guided 
Abraham  Lincoln  was. 

Consider  the  sympathy  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Do  you 
know  the  story  of  William  Scott,  private  ?  Mr.  Chitten- 
den gives  the  true  version  of  it.     He  was  a  boy  from  a 


TRAITS  AND   SAYINGS   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.      179 

Vermont  farm.  There  had  been  a  long  march,  and  the 
night  succeeding  it  he  had  stood  on  picket.  The  next 
day  there  had  been  another  long  march,  and  that  night 
William  Scott  had  volunteered  to  stand  guard  in  the 
place  of  a  sick  comrade  who  had  been  drawn  for  the 
duty.  It  was  too  much  for  William  Scott.  He  was  too 
tired.  He  had  been  found  sleeping  on  his  beat.  The 
army  was  at  Chain  Bridge.  It  was  in  a  dangerous  neigh- 
borhood. Discipline  must  be  kept.  William  Scott  is 
apprehended,  tried  by  court-martial,  sentenced  to  be  shot. 
News  of  the  case  is  carried  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  William 
Scott  is  prisoner  in  his  tent,  expecting  to  be  shot  next 
day.  But  the  flaps  of  his  tent  are  parted,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  stands  before  him.     Scott  said : 

' '  The  President  was  the  kindest  man  I  had  ever  seen ;  I  knew 
him  at  once  by  a  Lincoln  medal  I  had  long  worn.  I  was  scared 
at  first,  for  I  had  never  before  talked  with  a  great  man ;  but  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  so  easy  with  me,  so  gentle,  that  I  soon  forgot  my 
fright.  He  asked  me  all  about  the  people  at  home,  the  neighbors, 
the  farm,  and  where  I  went  to  school,  and  who  my  schoolmates 
were.  Then  he  asked  me  about  mother  and  how  she  looked ;  and 
I  was  glad  I  could  take  her  photograph  from  my  bosom  and  show 
it  to  him.  He  said  how  thankful  I  ought  to  be  that  my  mother 
still  lived,  and  how,  if  he  were  in  my  place,  he  would  try  to  make 
her  a  proud  mother,  and  never  cause  her  a  sorrow  or  a  tear.  I 
cannot  remember  it  all,  but  every  word  was  so  kind. 

"He  had  said  nothing  yet  about  that  dreadful  next  morning; 
I  thought  it  must  be  that  he  was  so  kind-hearted  that  he  didn't 
like  to  speak  of  it.  But  why  did  he  say  so  much  about  my 
mother,  and  my  not  causing  her  a  sorrow  or  a  tear,  when  I  knew 
that  I  must  die  the  next  morning?  But  I  supposed  that  was 
something  that  would  have  to  go  unexplained ;  and  so  I  deter- 
mined to  brace  up  and  tell  him  that  I  did  not  feel  a  bit  guilty,  and 
ask  him  wouldn't  he  fix  it  so  that  the  firing  party  would  not  be 
from  our  regiment.     That  was  going  to  be  the  hardest  of  all  —  to 


180  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

die  by  the  hands  of  my  comrades.  Just  as  I  was  going  to  ask 
him  this  favor  he  stood  up,  and  he  says  to  me  :  '  My  boy,  stand  up 
here  and  look  me  in  the  face.'  I  did  as  he  bade  me.  '  My  boy,' 
he  said,  '  you  are  not  going  to  be  shot  to-morrow.  I  believe  you 
when  you  tell  me  that  you  could  not  keep  awake.  I  am  going  to 
trust  you,  and  send  you  back  to  your  regiment.  But  I  have  been 
put  to  a  good  deal  of  trouble  on  your  account.  I  have  had  to 
come  up  here  from  Washington  when  I  have  got  a  great  deal 
to  do  ;  and  what  I  want  to  know  is,  how  you  are  going  to  pay  my 
bill.'  There  was  a  big  lump  in  my  throat ;  I  could  scarcely  speak. 
I  had  expected  to  die,  you  see,  and  had  kind  of  got  used  to  think- 
ing that  way.  To  have  it  all  changed  in  a  minute  !  But  I  got  it 
crowded  down,  and  managed  to  say :  '  I  am  grateful,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln !  I  hope  I  am  as  grateful  as  ever  a  man  can  be  to  you  for 
saving  my  life.  But  it  comes  upon  me  sudden  and  unexpected 
like.  I  didn't  lay  out  for  it  at  all ;  but  there  is  some  way  to  pay 
you,  and  I  will  find  it  after  a  little.  There  is  the  bounty  in  the 
savings  bank;  I  guess  we  could  borrow  some  money  on  the  mort- 
gage of  the  farm.  There  was  my  pay  was  something,  and  if  he 
would  wait  until  pay-day  I  was  sure  the  boys  would  help ;  so  I 
thought  we  could  make  it  up  if  it  wasn't  more  than  five  or  six 
hundred  dollars.'  '  But  it  is  a  great  deal  more  than  that,'  he  said. 
Then  I  said  I  didn't  just  see  how,  but  I  was  sure  I  would  find 
some  way  — if  I  lived. 

' '  Then  Mr.  Lincoln  put  his  hands  on  my  shoulders,  and  looked 
into  my  face  as  if  he  was  sorry,  and  said :  '  My  boy,  my  bill  is  a 
very  large  one.  Your  friends  cannot  pay  it,  nor  your  bounty,  nor 
the  farm,  nor  all  your  comrades  !  There  is  only  one  man  in  all 
the  world  who  can  pay  it,  and  his  name  is  William  Scott !  If 
from  this  day  William  Scott  does  his  duty,  so  that,  if  I  was  there 
when  he  comes  to  die,  he  can  look  me  in  the  face  as  he  does  now, 
and  say,  I  have  kept  my  promise,  and  I  have  done  my  duty  as  a 
soldier,  then  my  debt  will  be  paid.  Will  you  make  that  promise 
and  try  to  keep  it  ?  '" 

The  promise  was  given.  It  is  too  long  a  story  to  tell  of 
the  effect  of  this  sympathizing  kindness  on  private  Wil- 
liam Scott.     Thenceforward  there  never  was  such  a  sol- 


TRAITS  AND  SAYINGS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN      181 

dier  as  William  Scott.  This  is  the  record  of  the  end.  It 
was  after  one  of  the  awful  battles  of  the  Peninsula.  He 
was  shot  all  to  pieces.     He  said : 

"  Boys,  I  shall  never  see  another  battle.  I  supposed  this  would 
be  ray  last.  I  haven't  much  to  say.  You  all  know  what  you  can 
tell  them  at  home  about  me.  I  have  tried  to  do  the  right  thing  ! 
If  any  of  you  ever  have  the  chance,  I  wish  you  would  tell  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  that  I  have  never  forgotten  the  kind  words  he  said 
to  me  at  the  Chain  Bridge  —  that  I  have  tried  to  be  a  good  soldier 
and  true  to  the  flag  —  that  I  should  have  paid  my  whole  debt  to 
him  if  I  had  lived  ;  and  that,  now,  when  I  know  that  I  am  dying, 
I  think  of  his  kind  face,  and  thank  him  again,  because  he  gave  me 
the  chance  to  fall  like  a  soldier  in  battle,  and  not  like  a  coward  by 
the  hands  of  my  comrades." 

Was  there  ever  a  more  exquisite  story  ?  Space  forbids 
the  half  telling  it.  But  the  heart  of  Abraham  Lincoln  — 
how  wide  it  was,  how  beautiful  and  particular  in  its  sym- 
pathies. Who  can  doubt  a  gracious  providence,  when  at 
such  a  crisis  such  a  wise,  strong,  tender  hand  was  set  to 
grasp  the  helm  of  things  ?  What  wonder  that  Secretary 
Stanton  said  of  him,  as  he  gazed  upon  the  tall  form  and 
kindly  face  as  he  lay  there,  smitten  down  by  the  assassin's 
bullet:  "There  lies  the  most  perfect  ruler  of  men  who 
ever  lived." 

Minneapolis,  Minn. 


LINCOLN  IN  HABTFORD. 

THE  YEOMAN  ORATOR  —  DISCUSSES  HIS  SECRETARY  OF 
THE  NAVY— REFUSES  WINE -NAMES  THE  REPUB- 
LICAN CLUBS. 

BY  DANIEL  D.  BIDWELL, 

Editoe  of  the  Haetfoed  "Evening  Post." 

It  was  on  a  train  that  was  two  hours  late  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  came  to  the  Charter  Oak  City  in  the  early  even- 
ing of  March  5th,  1860.  A  meeting  at  which  he  was  to 
deliver  the  main  speech  was  due  to  open  in  a  scanty  fif- 
teen minutes.  Without  a  thought  of  solace  for  the  inner 
man  the  hardy  railsplitter  stepped  into  one  of  the  crazy 
"public  carriages"  of  the  Hartford  of  1860  and  bade  the 
Jehu  to  sprint  for  the  old  city  hall,  in  which  the  meeting 
was  to  be  held. 

A  large  crowd  had  collected  in  the  building.  In  it  was 
a  larger  infusion  of  young  men  than  was  usually  the  case 
in  ante-bellum  political  assemblies.  The  president  of 
the  meeting  was  but  twenty-nine,  but  he  combined  with 
natural  coolness  solid  qualities  which  are  possessed  by 
few  men  who  have  the  experience  of  twice  twenty-nine 
years.  He  was  George  G-.  Sill,  since  then  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor of  Connecticut.  In  introducing  the  gaunt  ex-fron- 
tiersman Mr.  Sill  referred  to  him  as  "  one  who  has  done 
yeoman  service  for  the  young  party,"  with  a  slight  em- 
phasis on  the  word  "yeoman,"  sufficient  to  remind  his 

182 


LINCOLN  IN  HARTFORD.  183 

auditors  of  the  democratic  birth  and  unpretentious  ap- 
pearance of  Tom  Lincoln's  son.  This  happy  stroke,  made 
as  it  were  with  the  delicacy  of  the  rapier  rather  than  with 
the  emphasis  of  the  bludgeon,  caught  the  fancy  of  the 
crowd.  It  was  probably  with  it  in  mind  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
in  a  few  words  preliminary  to  his  address,  after  explain- 
ing the  cause  of  his  delay  styled  himself  a  "  dirty  shirt " 
exponent  of  Republicanism.  His  gaunt,  homely  figure, 
unpretending  manner,  conversational  air,  careless  cloth- 
ing and  dry  humor  made  him  at  once  a  favorite  with 
the  audience,  who  felt  that  he  was  indeed  a  man  of  the 
people. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  speech  was  meaty,  logical,  convincing. 
It  dealt  largely  with  the  question  of  slavery.  The  Hart- 
ford Times  in  its  account  the  following  day  referred  to 
Lincoln  as  an  Abolitionist,  but  the  reference  may  have 
been  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Times  was  the  leading 
Democratic  paper  in  Connecticut. 

After  the  meeting  was  over  Mr.  Lincoln,  escorted  by 
Mr.  Sill,  entered  an  open  carriage.  Several  hundred 
young  men  closed  in  around  the  vehicle,  and,  forming 
spontaneously  in  military  ranks,  accompanied  the  vehicle 
in  progress  to  the  house  of  Mayor  Timothy  M.  Allyn. 
They  saluted  their  favorite  with  storm  after  storm  of 
enthusiastic  cheers. 

Turning  to  Mr.  Sill,  Mr.  Lincoln  said,  humorously : 
"  The  boys  are  wide  awake.  Suppose  we  call  them  the 
Wide-awakes." 

His  suggestion  was  followed.  A  few  days  later  a 
marching  Republican  club  was  formed,  and  its  origi- 
nators gave  to  it  simply  the  name  "  The  Wide-awakes." 
Other  marching  clubs  followed  fast  and  thick  in  its 
wake.     To  each  one,  as  it  was  christened,  was  given  the 


184  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

name  "  Wide-awake  " ;  and  from  Stonington  to  Salisbury, 
Conn.,  was  fairly  speckled  with  "  Wide-awake  Clubs." 

At  Mayor  Allyn's  fine  old  colonial  mansion  a  baker's 
dozen  sat  down  to  dine.  Champagne  was  served  at  the 
meal ;  but  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  one  of  his  humorous  smiles, 
politely  declined  to  indulge. 

The  following  morning  was  raw  and  gusty;  but  bad 
atmospheric  conditions  had  no  effect  on  Lincoln,  who 
early  in  the  forenoon  took  a  long  stroll  through  the  city. 
On  his  return  he  stepped  into  the  bookstore  of  Brown  & 
Gross,  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Asylum  Streets.  The 
little  establishment  was  one  of  the  oldest  as  well  as  one 
of  the  best  in  New  England  outside  of  Boston.  In  it 
Mr.  Lincoln  met  for  the  first  time  his  future  Secretary 
of  the  Navy.  The  two  spent  two  hours  in  exchanging 
political  and  economic  views.  This  interview  may  fairly 
be  said  to  have  led  to  the  offer  of  the  navy  portfolio, 
some  eight  or  nine  months  later,  to  Mr.  Wells.  Testi- 
mony to  this  effect  was  given,  shortly  after  his  inaugu- 
ration, by  President  Lincoln. 


ABKAHAM  LINCOLN'S   BIRTHDAY. 

SENATOR  HOAR'S   COMPARISON— A  NEGRO'S    TRIBUTE 

TO  LINCOLN. 

BY  R.  R.  WRIGHT, 
President  of  the  Georgia  State  Industrial  College. 

As  the  American  Missionary  Association  has  selected 
the  birthday  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  the  day  on  which 
to  commemorate  the  act  of  liberating  fonr  million  of 
American  slaves,  the  writer  thought  that  perhaps  the 
accompanying  letter  [printed  on  p.  1]  from  the  late 
George  W.  Curtis,  on  Lincoln,  would  prove  interesting. 
In  a  sense  Lincoln  and  that  Association  are  intimately 
connected  in  work  for  the  American  Negro.  The  one 
secured,  the  other  has  done  much  to  preserve,  his  liberty 
for  him.  Neither  could  perhaps  have  been  of  true 
service  to  the  Negro  without  the  other. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was,  in  truth,  a  great  and  good  man ;  the 

man  not  only  for  his  time,  but  for  the  colored  people.     It 

has  occurred  to  a  distinguished  correspondent  of  mine, 

Senator   Hoar,  that   Mr.    Lincoln  had  many  traits  for 

which  the  colored  people  are  noted.     Among  these  traits 

were  a  sweetness   of  disposition,  great  patience  of  the 

wrong ;  he  had  no  memory  for  injustice ;  was  forgiving ; 

was  ready  to  wait  for  the  slow  processes  by  which  God 

accomplishes  great  and  permanent  blessings  for  mankind. 

185 


186  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Like  the  Negro,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  born  in  a  hovel.  He 
had  to  labor  incessantly  for  his  daily  bread.  His  educa- 
tional advantages  were  the  poorest.  He  had  scarcely  a 
year's  schooling.  He  was  deprived  of  books.  The  Bible, 
"Pilgrim's  Progress,"  "Life  of  Washington,"  "Robin- 
son Crusoe  "  and  "  iEsop's  Fables "  were  the  books  to 
which  he  owed  most.  His  early  narrow  escapes  showed 
that  he  was  a  providential  man.  With  all  this,  Mr. 
Lincoln's  religious  sense  was  deep  and  pervading.  The 
very  biography  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  struggles  for  bread,  for 
clothes,  for  money  and  for  "  a  little  learning "  reads  so 
much  like  the  story  of  some  Negro  battling  against 
adversity.  Had  Mr.  Lincoln  been  a  member  of  the 
Negro  race  it  is  doubtful  if  he  would  have  outstripped 
Frederick  Douglass  in  the  race  of  life.  May  it  not  be 
stated  that  the  two  typical  Americans  are  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  Frederick  Douglass  ? 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  noted  for  his  great  common  sense  and 
for  his  political  sagacity.  Senator  Hoar  thinks  that  with 
all  his  great  and  grand  qualities,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  born 
politician  and  was  even  a  perpetual  wire-puller ;  that  it 
was  by  his  great  shrewdness  that  he  secured  the  adoption 
of  the  Thirteenth  Amendment,  kept  the  border  States 
from  going  out  of  the  Union,  and  held  back  the  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  of  the  North  until  the  time  was  ripe 
to  strike  the  blow  for  his  Emancipation  Proclamation. 
There  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  great 
political  sagacity  and  an  abundance  of  common  sense. 
He  knew  what  to  do  next  and  when  to  do  it.  Some 
people  believe  or  affect  to  believe  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
not  ardently  earnest  and  sincere  in  the  desire  to  free 
the  slaves.  Indeed,  they  seem  to  believe  that  he  was 
indifferent  upon  this  point ;  that  his  only  desire  was  to 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  BIRTHDAY.  187 

save  the  Union.  I  cannot  think  so.  As  a  great  states- 
man and  "  student  of  the  slow  processes  of  the  great  mills 
of  God,"  he  abided  God's  time  with  the  profoundest  and 
most  reverent  faith.  As  he  had  expressed  his  belief  that 
this  nation  could  not  long  exist  half  slave  and  half  free, 
with  this  conviction,  he  undoubtedly  felt  that  in  the 
course  of  events  the  great  Ruler  in  the  affairs  of  nations 
would  accomplish  the  freedom  of  the  American  slaves. 


PERSONAL     RECOLLECTIONS     OF     ABRAHAM 

LINCOLN. 

BY  HENEY  W.  KNIGHT. 

My  first  recollection  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  at  the  review 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  the  spring  of  1863,  jnst 
preceding  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville.  This  noble 
army  had  been  in  winter  quarters  since  the  fatal  affair 
under  Burnside  at  Fredericksburg,  and  Gen.  Joseph 
Hooker  was  now  Commander-in-Chief.  Our  forces  were 
never  in  better  condition  than  at  this  time.  Three  corps 
of  the  army  —  the  Sixth,  commanded  by  Gen.  John 
Sedgwick  of  Connecticut,  "Uncle  John,"  as  he  was 
familiarly  called  by  his  corps ;  the  Third,  commanded 
by  General  Sickles ;  and  the  Second,  under  command  of 
General  Hancock  —  were  drawn  up  in  one  grand  line, 
and  numbered  fully  50,000  men. 

I  had  the  honor  of  belonging  to  the  Sixth  Corps.  As 
Mr.  Lincoln  approached  to  review  our  corps  I  had  a  fine 
opportunity  of  seeing  him.  He  rode,  in  a  very  awkward 
manner,  a  magnificent  black  horse,  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of 
plain  black  clothes,  with  a  much-worn  black  silk  hat.  His 
pale,  sad  face,  in  strong  contrast  to  his  dark  apparel, 
certainly  looked  singularly  out  of  place  by  the  side  of 
bluff  Joe  Hooker,  whose  florid  countenance,  splendid 
uniform  and  beautiful  white  horse,  fairly  glittered  by 
the  side  of  the  plain  man  who  rode  at  his  right  hand. 

188 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  189 

In  the  campaign  of  1864  I  became  disabled,  and  was 
transferred  to  the  Veteran  Eeserve  Corps.  This  body 
of  men  was  composed  of  wounded  and  disabled  soldiers 
—  too  much  disabled  to  stand  active  service,  and  yet 
good  for  garrison  and  guard  duty.  I  was  assigned  to 
duty  at  Washington.  I  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
guard  at  the  War  Department,  and  here  it  was  that  1 
frequently  saw  Mr.  Lincoln.  His  favorite  time  for 
visiting  the  War  Department  was  between  eleven  and 
twelve  at  night,  and  when  there  was  no  one  in  the  build- 
ing but  the  telegraph  operator  and  his  two  or  three  mes- 
sengers and  the  guard  in  charge  of  the  building.  We 
were  all  quite  sure  of  one  thing  —  the  harder  it  rained 
or  the  fiercer  the  winds  blew,  the  more  certainly  would 
he  come ;  for  he  seemed  to  love  to  go  out  in  the  elements, 
and  to  commune  with  Nature  in  her  wildest  moods. 

I  seem  to  see  him  now,  as  —  his  tall,  ungainly  form 
wrapped  in  an  old  gray  shawl,  wearing  usually  a  "  shock- 
ingly bad  hat,"  and  carrying  a  worse  umbrella  —  he  came 
up  the  steps  into  the  building.  Secretary  Stanton,  who 
knew  Mr.  Lincoln's  midnight  habits,  gave  a  standing 
order  that,  although  Mr.  Lincoln  might  come  from  the 
White  House  alone  (and  he  seldom  came  in  any  other 
way),  he  should  never  be  permitted  to  return  alone,  but 
should  be  escorted  by  a  file  of  four  soldiers  and  a  non- 
commissioned officer.  I  was  on  duty  every  other  night. 
When  Mr.  Lincoln  was  ready  to  return  we  would  take  up 
a  position  near  him,  and  accompany  him  safely  to  the 
White  House.  I  presume  I  performed  this  duty  fifty 
times.  On  the  way  to  the  White  House,  Mr.  Lincoln 
would  converse  with  us  on  various  topics.  I  remember 
one  night  when  it  was  raining  very  hard  that  he  came 
over,  and  about  one  o'clock  he  started  back.     As  he  saw 


190  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

us  at  the  door,  ready  to  escort  him,  he  addressed  us  in 
these  words:  "Don't  come  out  in  this  storm  with  me 
to-night,  boys;  I  have  my  umbrella,  and  can  get  home 
safely  without  you."  "But,"  I  replied,  "Mr.  President, 
we  have  positive  orders  from  Mr.  Stanton  not  to  allow 
you  to  return  alone ;  and  you  know  we  dare  not  disobey 
his  orders."  "No,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  "I  suppose 
not;  for  if  Stanton  should  learn  that  you  had  let  me 
return  alone,  he  would  have  you  court-martialed  and 
shot  inside  of  twenty-four  hours."  I  recollect  another 
very  pleasing  incident  that  took  place  in  the  same  build- 
ing. Those  who  may  have  been  in  the  old  War  Depart- 
ment may  remember  that  there  were  two  short  flights  of 
stairs  which  had  to  be  ascended  in  order  to  reach  the 
second  floor.  At  the  head  of  the  first  flight  was  a  plat- 
form or  landing,  and  here  the  non-commissioned  officer 
in  charge  of  the  guard  had  a  desk  and  chair.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln had  to  pass  me  whenever  he  came  up  these  stairs, 
and  as  he  did  so  I  always  arose,  and,  taking  off  my  hat, 
remained  standing  till  he  passed.  The  taking-off  of  the 
hat  was  a  mark  of  personal  respect  simply,  for  no  soldier 
on  duty,  under  any  circumstances,  is  required  to  raise 
his  hat.  On  one  occasion,  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  always  had 
a  pleasant  "Good-evening,"  and  sometimes  stopped  to 
pass  a  word  or  two,  hesitated  on  this  landing,  and,  look- 
ing at  the  wall,  where  hung  a  pair  of  axes  to  be  used  in 
case  of  fire,  asked  what  they  were  there  for.  I  replied 
that  they  were  to  be  used  in  case  of  fire.  "Well,  now," 
said  he,  "  I  wonder  if  I  could  lift  one  of  those  axes  up 
by  the  end  of  the  handle?  "  and,  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word,  he  took  one  down,  and,  laying  the  heavy  end  on 
the  floor,  -he  commenced  raising  it  till  he  held  it  out  at 
arm's  length,  and  kept  it  there  several  seconds.      "I 


PERSONAL   RECOLLECTIONS.  191 

thought  I  could  do  it,"  he  said,  as  he  put  it  down.  "You 
try  it."  I  did  try  it,  and  failed.  Mr.  Lincoln  laughed, 
and  as  he  passed  on  he  said :  "  When  I  used  to  split 
rails,  thirty  years  ago  in  Illinois,  I  could  lift  two  axes 
that  way ;  and  I  believe  I  could  do  it  now,  and  I  will  try 
it  some  other  time." 

Soon  after  this  circumstance  General  Grant  took  com- 
mand of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  in  order  to  have 
all  the  available  forces  at  command  he  ordered  every 
able-bodied  soldier  to  the  front,  and  this  included  a 
detachment  of  cavalry  which,  for  a  long  time,  had  been 
President  Lincoln's  body  guard  to  and  from  the  Sol- 
diers' Home.  I  was  detailed  on  one  occasion  to  escort 
the  President  to  the  Home.  While  on  our  way  we  had 
to  pass  Carver  Hospital.  As  we  approached  the  front 
gate,  I  noticed  what  seemed  to  be  a  young  man  groping 
his  way,  as  if  he  were  blind,  across  the  road.  Hearing 
the  carriage  and  horses  approaching,  he  became  fright- 
ened, and  walked  in  the  direction  of  the  approaching 
danger.  Mr.  Lincoln  quickly  observed  this  and  shouted 
to  the  coachman  to  rein  in  his  horses,  which  he  did  as 
they  were  about  to  run  over  the  unfortunate  youth.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  expression  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  face 
on  this  occasion.  Standing  beside  the  carriage  was  the 
young  man,  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  a  private  soldier. 
He  had  been  shot  through  the  left  side  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  face,  and  the  ball,  passing  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  had  put  out  both  of  his  eyes.  He  could  not  have 
been  over  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  and,  aside 
from  his  blindness,  he  had  a  very  beautiful  face.  Mr. 
Lincoln  extended  his  hand  to  him,  and  while  he  held  it 
he  asked  him,  with  a  voice  trembling  with  emotion,  his 
name,   his  regiment  and  where  he  lived.      The  young 


192  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

man  answered  these  questions,  and  stated  that  he  lived 
in  Michigan ;  and  then  Mr.  Lincoln  made  himself  known 
to  the  blind  soldier,  and  with  a  look  that  was  a  benedic- 
tion in  itself  spoke  to  him  a  few  words  of  sympathy  and 
bade  him  good-by.  A  few  days  after  this  incident,  an 
old  "  chum  "  from  my  own  regiment  wrote  me  that  he 
was  at  Carver  Hospital,  and  asked  me  to  come  and  see 
him.  I  went,  and  while  there  I  asked  after  the  blind 
soldier  who  had  lost  his  eyes.  I  then  learned  that  the 
following  day,  after  his  interview  with  the  President  he 
received  a  commission  as  a  First  Lieutenant  in  the  Regu- 
lar Army  of  the  United  States,  accompanied  by  an  order 
of  retirement  upon  full  pay ;  and  if  he  is  living  to-day, 
he  is  doubtless  drawing  the  salary  of  a  First  Lieutenant 
in  the  United  States  Army  on  the  retired  list. 

I  never  shall  forget  that  dark  hour  in  our  nation's  his- 
tory, the  fourteenth  of  April,  1865.  I  was  on  duty  at 
the  War  Department.  Everything  seemed  peaceful,  and 
nothing  was  heard  but  the  quiet  tread  of  the  sentinel  as 
he  paced  his  beat.  Suddenly  a  great  commotion  was 
heard  outside,  and  in  a  moment  the  soldier  on  duty  at 
the  Pennsylvania  Avenue  front  came  rushing  in,  and, 
with  a  face  pale  as  death,  broke  to  us  the  tidings  of  the 
most  accursed  crime  in  modern  history.  The  excite- 
ment, the  madness  and  the  sorrow  that  filled  our  souls 
on  that  occasion  was  simply  indescribable.  I  wanted  to 
run  down  to  the  theatre,  but  I  dared  not  leave  my  post. 
While  waiting,  amid  the  most  intense  anxiety,  Colonel 
Pelouze,  one  of  the  Adjutant- Generals  at  the  War  De- 
partment, rushed  into  the  building  and  ordered  me  to 
take  my  men  as  fast  as  I  could  to  the  front  door  of 
Ford's  Theatre.  In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  we 
started  on  the  "  double  quick  "  for  the  theatre.     As  we 


PERSONAL   RECOLLECTIONS.  193 

turned  the  corner  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue  we  encoun- 
tered an  immense  crowd  gathered  about  the  building. 
We  quickly  reversed  our  muskets,  and,  using  the  butts 
of  them,  freely  forced  our  way  to  the  door  of  the  theatre, 
where  we  met  Major  Hay,  then  the  private  secretary  of 
President  Lincoln.  He  requested  me  to  make  a  passage 
through  the  crowd,  so  that  the  President  might  be  carried 
across  the  street  to  a  Mr.  Peterson's  house,  where  he 
died  the  next  morning.  This  we  quickly  accomplished, 
and  soon  the  bleeding  form  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
carried  past  us,  and  while  the  tears  rolled  down  our 
cheeks,  there  was  not  one  of  our  number  but  would  have 
willingly  shed  his  own  blood  could  it  but  have  saved  the 
life  of  him  we  all  loved  so  well.  So  ended  the  career 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  from  all  civilized  nations  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  rose  a  cry  of  sympathy  and  horror; 
sympathy  for  his  death  and  horror  for  the  dark  crime 
that  caused  it! 

New  York  City. 
o 


LINCOLN  AS  A  BHETOEICAL  AETIST. 

HOW  HE  LEARNED  TO  DEMONSTRATE. 

BY.  AMOS  W.  PEARSON, 
Editob  of  the  Nobwich,  Conn.,  "Bulletin." 

The  visit  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  Norwich  on  March 
9th,  1860,  is  one  of  the  memorable  events  of  the  cent- 
ury. It  was  subsequent  to  his  great  political  debate 
with  Douglas,  and  just  prior  to  his  nomination  for  the 
Presidency.  The  irrepressible  conflict,  which  soon  cul- 
minated in  the  Civil  War,  was  at  its  height,  and  as  a 
free-State  champion  against  the  extension  of  slavery 
to  the  Territories,  Lincoln  was  admired  and  respected. 
The  announcement  that  he  was  to  make  a  campaign 
address  in  Norwich  was  a  signal  for  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  enthusiastic  public  gatherings  ever  held  in  this 
place.  The  old  town  hall  was  packed,  and  concerning 
that  speech,  the  Eev.  John  Gulliver,  D.D.,  said:  "I 
learned  more  of  the  art  of  public  speaking  in  listening 
to  Mr.  Lincoln's  address  than  I  could  have  learned  from 
a  whole  course  of  lectures  on  rhetoric." 

The  late  Eev.  Dr.  Gulliver  was  so  interested  in  Lin- 
coln and  his  masterly  address  that  he  ventured  to  ask 
him  where  he  was  educated,  and  it  was  then  that  he 
replied : 

"  Well,  as  to  education,  the  newspapers  are  correct.     I 

194 


LINCOLN  AS  A  RHETORICAL  ARTIST.  195 

never  went  to  school  more  than  six  months  in  my  life. 
I  can  say  this :  That  among  my  earliest  recollections  I 
remember  how,  when  a  mere  child,  I  used  to  get  irritated 
when  anybody  talked  to  me  in  a  way  I  could  not  under- 
stand. I  do  not  think  I  ever  got  angry  at  anything  else 
in  my  life;  but  that  always  disturbed  my  temper,  and 
has  ever  since.  I  can  remember  going  to  my  little  bed- 
room, after  hearing  the  neighbors  talk  of  an  evening 
with  my  father,  and  spending  no  small  part  of  the  night 
walking  up  and  down  and  trying  to  make  out  what  was 
the  exact  meaning  of  some  of  their,  to  me,  dark  sayings. 

"  I  could  not  sleep,  although  I  tried  to,  when  I  got  on 
such  a  hunt  for  an  idea  until  I  had  caught  it;  and  when 
I  thought  I  had  got  it,  I  was  not  satisfied  until  I  had 
repeated  it  over  and  over ;  until  I  had  put  it  in  language 
plain  enough,  as  I  thought,  for  any  boy  I  knew  to  com- 
prehend. This  was  a  kind  of  passion  with  me,  and  it  has 
stuck  by  me;  for  I  am  never  easy  now,  when  I  am  han- 
dling a  thought,  till  I  have  bounded  it  north  and  bounded 
it  south,  and  bounded  it  east  and  bounded  it  west. 

"But  your  question  reminds  me  of  a  bit  of  education 
which  I  am  bound  in  honesty  to  mention.  In  the 
course  of  my  law  reading  I  constantly  came  upon  the 
word  demonstrate  —  I  thought,  at  first,  that  I  under- 
stood its  meaning,  but  soon  became  satisfied  that  I  did 
not.  I  said  to  myself,  'What  do  I  mean  when  I  dem- 
onstrate, more  than  when  I  reason  or  prove?'  I  con- 
sulted Webster's  Dictionary.  That  told  of  'certain 
proof/  'proof  beyond  the  probability  of  doubt';  but  I 
could  form  no  sort  of  idea  what  sort  of  proof  that  was. 
I  thought  a  great  many  things  were  proved  beyond  the 
possibility  of  a  doubt,  without  recourse  to  any  such  rea- 
soning as  I  understood  demonstration  to  be. 


196  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  I  consulted  all  the  dictionaries  and  books  of  refer- 
ence I  could  find,  but  with  no  better  results.  You  might 
as  well  have  defined  blue  to  a  blind  man.  At  last  I  said, 
'Lincoln,  you  can  never  make  a  lawyer  if  you  do  not 
understand  what  demonstrate  means  ' ;  and  I  left  my  sit- 
uation in  Springfield,  went  home  to  my  father's  house, 
and  stayed  there  until  I  could  give  any  proposition  in 
the  six  books  of  Euclid  at  sight.  I  then  found  out  what 
demonstrate  meant,  and  went  back  to  my  law  studies." 

This  bit  of  autobiography  opens  to  view  one  quality  of 
Lincoln  which  answers  for  his  strong  self-training,  his 
growth  and  the  simplicity  of  style  which  gave  him 
power. 

It  was  this  visit  to  "  the  Rose  of  New  England  "  which 
introduced  "  Honest  Old  Abe  "  to  our  people,  and  created 
an  abiding  interest  in  his  welfare  and  a  love  for  him 
that  has  never  waned. 


TYPE   OF  THE   AMEKICAN   PEOPLE. 

THE  DESTROYER    OF    SLAVERY— ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 

1865-1895. 

BY  F.  B.  SANBORN, 
Author  of  "Life  of  John  Brown." 

The  flight  of  time,  which  in  thirty  years  effaces 
flourishing  reputations  of  American  dignitaries,  has  only 
enlarged  our  view  and  increased  our  admiration  of  Lin- 
coln the  Emancipator.  Nature  warns  us  against  those 
eager  reformers  and  devotees  of  their  own  fame  who 
"  run  before  they  are  sent " ;  but  no  such  imputation  rests 
upon  the  sad  magnanimity  of  our  martyred  President  of 
1865.  Under  the  guidance  of  Heaven,  and,  as  it  were, 
against  his  own  hardly  won  consent,  he  became  the  de- 
stroyer of  that  atrocious  evil  —  American  slavery.  In 
vain  might  he  wish  to  lighten  the  stroke;  it  fell  but  the 
more  fatal  from  his  delay.  Yet,  in  its  death  agony,  the 
monster  had  strength  to  slay  its  most  generous  foe. 

In  his  early  career  of  laborious  obscurity,  as  well  as 
in  his  conspicuous  station,  Lincoln  was  the  type  of  the 
American  people.  In  what  other  land  could  he  have 
risen  so  high  without  betraying  or  ignoring  the  institu- 
tions that  enabled  him  to  rise?  But  power  in  his  hands 
was  wielded  with  a  magnanimity  unequalled,  and  well- 
nigh  without  personal  aims.     "This  way  of  thinking," 

197 


198  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

says  Kaleigh,  "  is  what  gave  men  the  glorious  appella- 
tion of  deliverers  and  fathers  of  their  country;  this 
made  mankind  incapable  of  bearing  their  very  appear- 
ance without  applauding  it  as  a  benefit." 

Yet  the  powers  of  Lincoln's  mind  were  of- no  mean 
order.  They  could  not  be  gauged  by  the  common  stand- 
ard, to  which  his  modesty  referred  them.  His  sagacity 
was  not  that  of  the  average  man ;  rather  was  it  the  aggre- 
gate wisdom  of  the  multitude,  slowly  aroused,  and  sel- 
dom at  fault.  His  logic  was  as  peculiar  as  his  candor; 
he  would  state  the  arguments  of  his  adversary  more 
clearly  than  his  own,  and  seldom  did  he  urge  his  own 
with  so  much  force  as  when  they  had  ceased  to  convince 
him.  His  masterly  use  of  language  was  the  unstudied 
dialect  of  the  people,  shaped  in  the  mould  of  an  orator, 
crammed  with  the  homeliest  figures  and  suffused  with  the 
broadest  humor. 

Never  was  a  public  man  so  amiable,  so  accessible,  so 
patient,  so  forgiving.  If  it  was  sometimes  feared  that 
this  virtuous  softness  might  be  of  detriment  to  his 
country,  yet  how  winning  is  the  light  in  which  it  leaves 
his  gracious  memory!  Toward  that  long-suffering  race 
which  looks  up  to  Lincoln  as  its  deliverer  his  heart  was 
warm  when  his  judgment  might  be  something  cold.  To 
them  "  the  glance  of  his  eyes  gave  gladness,  and  his  every 
sentence  had  the  force  of  a  bounty. "  To  us  he  might 
have  seemed  to  neglect  their  cause,  but  they  had  no 
voice  of  censure;  their  gratitude  while  he  lived,  and 
their  desolate  sorrow  at  his  death,  are  his  highest 
eulogy. 

In  the  universal  lamentation  of  thirty  years  ago,  mine 
found  expression  in  a  few  verses  which  still  seem  appro- 
priate, after  so  long  a  time : 


TYPE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE.  199 

Though  forts  are  stormed  and  cities  won, 

And  banded  Treason  melts  away, 
As  sullen  mists  that  hate  the  sun 

Flee  at  the  bright  assault  of  Day  — 

Our  heavy  hearts  will  not  be  gay. 

For  thee  we  mourn,  in  victory's  hour, 
Whose  courage  no  defeat  could  shake  ; 

Who  held' st  the  State's  resistless  power 
In  trust  but  for  thy  people's  sake  : 
For  thee  thy  people  mourning  make. 

•     For  He  that  sways  the  world  with  love 

(Though  War  and  Wrath  His  angels  are) 
Throned  thee  all  earthly  kings  above, 
On  threatened  Freedom's  flaming  car, 
To  frighten  tyrants,  near  and  far. 

His  purpose  high  thy  course  impelled 
O'er  war's  red  height  and  smoldering  plain ; 

When  awe,  when  pity  thee  withheld, 
He  gave  thy  chafing  steeds  the  rein, 
Till  at  thy  feet  lay  Slavery  slain. 

Then  ceased  thy  task  —  another  hand 
Takes  up  the  burden  thou  lay'st  down  ; 

Sorrowing  and  glad,  the  rescued  land 
Twofold  awards  thy  just  renown  — 
The  Victor's  and  the  Martyr's  crown. 

Concord,  Mass. 


KECOLLECTIONS  OF  ONE  "WHO  STUDIED  LAW 

WITH  LINCOLN. 

BY  JOHN  H.  LITTLEFIELD, 
Author  of  Lecture,  "  Personal  Recollections  of  Arraham  Lincoln." 

I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Lincoln  through  my 
brother,  General  Littlefield,  who  was  present  at  one  of 
the  famous  debates  in  Illinois,  between  Lincoln  and 
Douglas,  in  1858.  At  Ottawa,  in  that  State,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  Lincoln's  speech,  Douglas  was  carried  by  his 
admirers  to  his  hotel.  Then  my  brother,  who  was  sit- 
ting up  in  a  tree,  acting  as  reporter  for  one  of  the  St. 
Louis  newspapers,  seeing  how  Douglas  was  carried  to  his 
hotel,  dropped  from  the  tree  and,  with  several  friends, 
proceeded  to  carry  Lincoln  to  his  hotel  in  true  South- 
western style.  Lincoln  protested — "Don't,  don't.  This 
is  ridiculous  ";  but  they  carried  him  to  his  lodgings. 

In  this  way  my  brother  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
Lincoln.  One  day  he  said  to  him :  "  I  have  a  brother 
[myself]  in  Grand  Eapids,  Mich.,  studying  law.  I 
would  like  to  have  him  read  law  with  you."  "Send 
him  along,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln;  "we  will  try  and  do  what 
we  can  for  him."  So,  after  some  correspondence  in 
February,  1859,  I  entered  the  law  office  of  Lincoln  & 
Herndon,  and  remained  there  until  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
elected  to  the  Presidency. 

200 


STUDYING  LAW  WITH  LINCOLN.  201 

In  February,  before  he  was  nominated,  I  wrote  out 
a  speech,  having  freely  consulted  books  in  the  State 
Library  and  in  Lincoln  &  Herndon's  library.  One  day 
I  said  to  Mr.  Lincoln :  "  It  is  important  that  I  get  this 
speech  correct,  because  I  think  you  are  going  to  be 
the  candidate. "  I  told  him  I  would  like  to  read  him 
the  speech.  He  consented,  sitting  down  in  one  corner 
of  the  room,  with  his  feet  on  a  chair  in  front  of  him. 
"Now,"  said  he,  in  his  hearty  way,  "fire  away,  John;  I 
think  I  can  stand  it."  As  I  proceeded  he  became  quite 
enthusiastic,  exclaiming :  "  You  are  hitting  the  nail  on 
the  head  there !  "  He  broke  out  several  times  in  this 
way,  finally  saying:  "That  is  going  to  go." 

The  lamented  Ellsworth  borrowed  that  speech  of  me 
on  one  occasion  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  it  and,  I 
am  sorry  to  say,  he  failed  to  return  it.  This  I  have 
always  regretted  because  the  speech  was  composed  under 
Mr.  Lincoln's  immediate  eye. 

Mr.  Lincoln  used  to  come  to  the  office  at  odd  times, 
having  no  particular  hours.  He  did  a  good  deal  of  work 
at  home.  He  was  a  very  industrious  man.  Whenever 
he  had  anything  of  interest  on  hand  he  was  a  hard  worker. 
One  of  the  secrets  of  his  success  was  his  ability  to  "  bone 
down"  to  hard  work.  Whenever  he  had  an  important 
case  on  hand  he  would  withdraw  himself  more  or  less 
from  society,  and  would  devote  himself  with  great  care 
to  the  case.  At  such  times  he  would  display  wonderful 
power  of  concentration.  He  used  to  go  about  in  a  sort 
of  brown  study.  Sometimes  he  would  take  his  young 
son  Tad  and,  throwing  him  over  his  shoulder,  would  go 
out  on  the  prairie.  The  boy  being  on  his  shoulder  would 
seemingly  give  him  the  necessary  ballast  so  that  he  could, 
in  nautical  parlance,  go  to  windward  well.     By  the  time 


202  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

he  returned  to  the  house  he  would  have  a  clear  concep- 
tion of  the  case  and  have  the  knotty  points  unravelled. 

While  in  the  office  considering  some  important  case  I 
have  frequenly  known  him  to  put  the  book  down,  and  all 
at  once  break  out :  "  Do  you  know  what  this  case  makes 
me  think  of  ?  "  and  then  he  would  tell  a  story.  In  this 
way  humor  would  enliven  jurisprudence. 

One  day  he  came  to  the  office  and  had  scarcely  opened 
the  door  when  he  exclaimed :  "  John,  did  I  ever  tell  you 
that  rat  story  ?  "  Then  he  told,  with  great  earnestness, 
about  a  man  who  stammered,  and  who  tried  to  cure  him- 
self of  the  habit  by  whistling. 

He  was  very  democratic  and  approachable.  Frequently 
in  going  along  the  street  he  would  meet  some  old  friend 
and  start  in :  "  By  the  way,  I  am  just  reminded  of  a  story," 
and  he  would  stop  in  the  street  and  tell  the  yarn.  There 
was  no  postponement  on  account  of  the  weather. 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  not  a  very  serious  man ;  in  fact,  he  was  one  of  the 
most  serious  men  I  have  ever  known.  You  might  say 
that  his  seriousness  was  a  species  of  melancholy.  He  was 
much  of  the  time  a  sad,  serious  man,  and  a  good  deal  of 
his  humor  was  evidently  for  the  purpose  of  counteracting 
these  moods  and  throwing  you  off  your  guard;  because 
when  he  got  into  these  moods  he  was  too  serious  for 
comfort. 

But  it  was  surprising  to  see  what  a  fund  of  anecdote 
he  had.  No  story  could  be  told  but  he  could  match  it, 
and  "go  one  better."  He  had  a  remarkable  memory. 
He  remembered  faces  well,  and  could,  on  the  instant, 
recall  where  he  had  seen  people  and  how  he  had  made 
their  acquaintance. 

All  his  life  he  was  an  extreme  temperance  man.     At 


STUDYING  LAW  WITH  LINCOLN.  203 

one  time  he  belonged  to  the  "  Sons  of  Temperance  "  in 
Springfield,  and  in  his  early  manhood  frequently  made 
temperance  speeches.  In  his  habits  he  was  a  strict  tem- 
perance man. 

And  he  was  a  remarkably  clean  man  in  his  conversa- 
tion. He  endured  some  Hsqu6  stories  on  account  of  their 
wit.  Once  a  young  man  came  to  the  office,  and  he  un- 
dertook to  tell  a  broad  story  that  had  no  wit  in  it.  He 
told  it  simply  because  it  was  broad.  Lincoln  took  him 
by  the  nape  of  his  neck  and  ordered  him  out  of  the  office, 
saying :  "  Young  man,  never  come  here  with  such  a  story. 
If  there  had  been  any  real  wit  in  it  you  might  have  been 
pardoned." 

Lincoln  did  not  seem  to  have  any  pleasures  common  to 
men  of  the  world.  He  was  not  a  great  eater  nor  a  drinker. 
The  nearest  approach  I  ever  knew  him  to  make  toward 
entertainment  or  pleasure  was  after  he  was  nominated  at 
Chicago.  He  used  to  play  barn  ball  there  nearly  every 
day  —  throwing  a  ball  up  against  a  brick  building  and 
trying  to  catch  it.  I  often  used  to  play  with  him.  That 
is  the  nearest  approach  to  pleasure  I  ever  saw  him 
make. 

In  literature  he  seemed  to  prefer  Shakespeare  and 
Burns.  He  could  recite  whole  passages  from  Shake- 
speare, notably  from  "Hamlet,"  with  wonderful  effect. 
He  was  very  fond  of  the  drama.  In  "  Hamlet,"  he  claimed 
that  the  passage  commencing  :  "  Oh !  my  offence  is  rank," 
etc.,  was  better  than  the  soliloquy.  He  said  that  the 
great  beauty  of  Shakespeare  was  the  power  and  majesty 
of  the  lines,  and  argued  that  even  an  indifferent  actor 
could  hold  an  audience  by  the  power  of  the  text  itself. 

Lincoln  was  what  you  would  call  an  odd,  a  singular 
man.     A  large  part  of  his  time  was  spent  in  study  and 


204  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

thought.  He  was  a  very  deep  and  close  thinker,  and  a 
genuine  logician. 

In  regard  to  religious  matters  he  did  not  talk  to  Hern- 
don  on  those  subjects.  Herndon  one  day  intimated  to 
me  that  he  did  not  know  what  Lincoln  believed.  All 
the  talk  in  Herndon' s  book  about  Lincoln's  religious  be- 
lief is  clap-trap.  Whatever  he  may  have  believed  in  early 
days,  he  did  not  talk  with  Herndon  on  the  subject  of 
religion  during  the  time  I  was  there.  He  rarely  attended 
church ;  he  spent  Sunday  at  home,  quietly.  Mrs.  Lincoln 
attended  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  children  were 
brought  up  in  that  faith. 

This  is  what  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to  me  on  the  subject  of 
religion,  the  nearest  approach  he  ever  made  to  talking  on 
the  subject:  One  day  he  stopped  his  work  and  said  to 
me,  suddenly,  "  John,  it  depends  a  great  deal  on  how  you 
state  a  case.  When  Daniel  Webster  stated  a  case,  it  was 
half  argument.  Now,"  said  he,  "you  take  the  subject  of 
predestination;  you  state  it  one  way,  and  you  cannot 
make  much  of  it;  you  state  it  another,  and  it  seems 
quite  reasonable." 

Lincoln  always  manifested  interest  in  everybody  with 
whom  he  associated.  When  you  first  met  him  and  studied 
him  he  impressed  you  with  being  a'very  sad  man  and  a 
very  kind  man.  He  struck  you  as  being  a  man  who 
would  go  out  of  his  way  to  serve  you.  There  was  about 
him  a  sense  of  self-abnegation.  Lincoln  impressed  me  as  a 
man  who  had  arrived  at  a  point  in  Christianity  without 
going  to  church  that  others  struggle  to  attain,  but  do  not 
reach,  by  going.  I  never  in  all  my  life  associated  with  a 
man  who  seemed  so  ready ato  serve  another.  He  was  a 
very  modest  man  in  his  demeanor,  and  yet  gave  you  an 
impression  of  strong  individuality.     In  his  freedom  of 


STUDYING  LAW  WITH  LINCOLN.  205 

intercourse  with  people  lie  would  seem  to  put  himself  on 
par  with  everybody ;  and  yet  there  was  within  him  a  sort 
of  reserved  power,  a  quiet  dignity  which  prevented  peo- 
ple from  presuming  on  him,  notwithstanding  he  had 
thrown  down  the  social  bars.  A  person  of  less  individu- 
ality would  have  been  trifled  with. 

In  money  matters  he  was  economical  and  thrifty, 
because  he  did  not  seem  to  have  much  desire  to  spend 
money  on  himself.  He  did  not  smoke,  chew  or  drink ; 
and  a  suit  of  clothes  would  last  him  a  long  time  because 
he  was  not  restless  in  his  manner. 

In  regard  to  his  attire  I  used  to  wonder  why  he  did  not 
appear  to  be  "  dressed  up  "  ;  for  when  I  looked  at  him  a 
second  time  I  would  see  that  he  was  as  well  dressed  as 
the  average  lawyer,  wearing  a  plain  broadcloth  suit,  a 
high  hat,  and  fine  boots.  But  his  angularity  and  indi- 
viduality were  so  pronounced  that  the  clothes  seemed  to 
lose  their  character,  as  it  were. 

Lincoln  displayed  great  eagerness  to  learn  on  all  sub- 
jects from  everybody.  When  he  was  introduced  to  per- 
sons his  general  method  was  to  entertain  them  by  telling 
them  a  story,  or  else  cross-question  them  along  the  line 
of  their  work,  and  soon  draw  from  them  about  all  the 
information  they  had. 

As  a  lawyer,  in  his  opening  speech  before  the  jury,  he 
would  cut  all  the  "dead  wood"  out  of  the  case.  The 
client  would  sometimes  become  alarmed,  thinking  that 
Lincoln  had  given  away  so  much  of  the  case  that  he 
would  not  have  anything  left.  After  he  had  shuffled  off 
the  unnecessary  surplusage  he  would  get  down  to  "  hard 
pan,"  and  state  the  case  so  clearly  that  it  would  soon  be 
apparent  he  had  enough  left  to  win  the  case  with.  In 
making    such    concessions   he   would   so    establish   his 


206  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

position  in  fairness  and  honesty  that  the  lawyer  on  the 
opposite  side  would  scarcely  have  the  heart  to  oppose 
what  he  contended  for. 

He  would  not  undertake  a  case  unless  it  was  a  good 
one.  If  it  was  a  poor  case  he  would  almost  invariably 
advise  the  client  to  settle  it  the  best  way  he  could. 
When  a  case  had  been  misrepresented  to  him  and  he 
afterward  discovered  the  fact  in  court,  he  would  throw 
it  up  then  and  there.  One  of  the  great  secrets  of  his 
success  was  the  reputation  he  had  of  being  a  thoroughly 
honest  lawyer.  Long  before  he  became  President  he  was 
known  by  the  sobriquet  of  "  Honest  Old  Abe."  He  had 
become  such  a  synonym  for  honesty  that  everybody  was 
willing  to  yield  assent  to  nearly  every  proposition  he 
advanced,  either  in  or  out  of  court. 

Lincoln's  manner  of  speaking  was  very  deliberate. 
His  voice  was  frequently  pitched  on  a  high  key.  His 
argument  was  logical,  and  his  emphasis  was  in  harmony 
with  the  points  he  made. 

In  regard  to  the  assassination,  it  is  a  singular  fact  that 
the  President  when  Booth  fired  at  him,  and  Booth  when 
he  was  shot  by  Corbett,  were  both  wounded  in  the  same 
place,  over  the  right  ear.  But  while  in  Lincoln  the  nerve 
of  sensation  was  affected  and  he  was  unconscious,  in 
Booth  the  nerve  of  motion  was  affected  but  the  nerve  of 
sensation  was  not ;  while  the  President  was  unconscious 
and  suffered  no  pain,  in  the  case  of  the  assassin  he  suf- 
fered excruciating  agony  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  It 
seemed  to  be  a  case  of  poetical  justice. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


ME.   LINCOLN  AT  THE  COOPER  INSTITUTE. 

A  CRITICAL   VIEW. 

BY  HENRY  M.   FIELD,   D.D., 

Editor  of  the  "Evangelist." 

I  never  saw  Abraham  Lincoln  but  two  or  three  times 
in  my  life.  But  I  did  see  him  on  his  first  appearance 
before  an  Eastern  audience,  when  he  gave  an  address 
which  was  lauded  to  the  skies  afterward,  though  it  produced 
no  great  impression  at  the  time.  It  was  not  till  his 
debates  with  Douglas  that  Lincoln  was  heard  of  in  the 
East.  He  had  been  in  Congress  once,  but  did  not  make 
a  ripple;  nor  was  he  very  widely  known  even  in  the 
West.  From  1842  to  1847  I  lived  in  St.  Louis  (perhaps 
a  hundred  miles  from  Springfield),  and  I  never  heard  his 
name.  But  Douglas  had  a  national  reputation,  and  a  man 
who  could  stand  up  before  the  Little  Giant,  and  give  him 
blow  for  blow,  was  no  ordinary  antagonist,  and  the  people 
of  the  East  were  curious  to  know  what  manner  of  man  he 
might  be. 

To  gratify  this  curiosity  he  was  invited  to  New  York 
to  give  a  lecture  in  Cooper  Institute  on  the  political  ques- 
tions before  the  country.  It  was  a  dark  and  rainy  night, 
and  the  hall  was  but  half  filled.  The  late  Maunsell  B. 
Field  was  on  the  platform,  and  beckoned  me  to  join  him, 
apparently  in  fear  that  there  would  be  a  beggarly  appear- 

207 


208  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ance  of  those  who  wished  to  do  honor  to  "  the  orator  of 
the  evening,"  to  use  the  grand  phrase  with  which  a  lect- 
urer was  sometimes  presented  to  empty  seats. 

The  great  hall  was  not  then  arranged  as  it  is  now,  with 
the  platform  at  the  side.  It  was  then  at  the  extreme  end. 
Presently  the  door  behind  us  opened,  and  half  a  dozen 
persons  walked  slowly  in,  conducting  a  figure  such  as 
I  had  never  seen  before  —  tall,  lank,  homely  in  every 
feature,  and  awkward  in  every  gesture.  As  I  sat  in  a 
chair  beside  him,  I  could  not  but  observe  him  closely. 
He  spoke  in  a  high-pitched  voice,  in  which  there  was  not 
a  trace  of  the  smooth-tongued  orator ;  and  yet,  as  he  went 
on,  something  caught  the  ear,  and  as  he  unfolded  link 
after  link  in  the  iron  chain  of  his  argument,  he  compelled 
attention  and  respect.  When  he  would  emphasize  a 
point,  he  would  stretch  out  his  long  arms,  and  his 
clinched  hand  came  down  as  if  he  were  a  blacksmith 
striking  on  his  anvil,  and  the  final  impression  was  one  of 
great  natural,  but  untrained  power. 

When  he  was  through,  those  who  sat  round  him  came 
up  to  shake  his  hand  and  pay  him  the  usual  compliments 
to  a  stranger.  Horace  Greeley,  who  had  come  in  late 
and  sat  at  some  distance,  shuffled  up  to  say  a  few  patron- 
izing words,  which  I  doubt  not  were  sincere,  for  he  said 
to  me  as  he  passed,  that  "  it  had  some  good  points  in  UP 
Imagine  my  surprise,  to  read  some  years  afterward  in 
one  of  our  reviews  or  magazines,  an  article  from  his  pen 
in  which  he  spoke  of  this  very  address  as  a  masterpiece 
of  political  wisdom  ;  indeed  almost  as  if  it  had  been  one 
of  the  greatest  productions  of  the  human  intellect ! 

Ah,  Horace !  Horace !  Hadst  thou  become  like  one  of 
us,  to  change  thy  judgment  with  the  changing  time  ? 
Was  that  very  simple  occasion  magnified  as  it  vanished 


MR.   LINCOLN  AT  THE  COOPER  INSTITUTE.         209 

into  the  distance  ?  It  is  a  weakness  that  is  common  to 
us  all.  Nor  would  I  recall  it  against  you  that,  in  the 
dark  days  of  the  War  you  murmured  at  its  u  snail's 
progress,"  speaking  bitterly  and  even  savagely,  as  when 
you  told  me  with  a  vehemence  that  caused  you  to  mix 
your  metaphors,  that  Lincoln  was  "  the  slowest  piece  of 
lead  that  ever  crawled !  "  But  you  made  full  reparation 
at  the  last,  when  all  was  over  and  you  saw  that  one  who 
was  in  the  centre  of  operations  could  judge  better  than 
those  at  a  distance,  and  that  there  might  be  a  moral 
greatness  in  mere  patience  and  endurance. 

And  now,  as  I  recall  that  dark  night  at  the  Cooper 
Institute,  when  I  first  saw  Abraham  Lincoln,  his  unique 
appearance  ceases  to  be  a  matter  of  criticism  and  becomes 
almost  sublime ;  for  its  very  defects,  its  want  of  outward 
grace,  its  plainness  almost  to  homeliness,  with  the  sim- 
plicity of  manner  and  of  speech,  brought  him  nearer  to 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  It  is  out  of  such  materials  that 
the  Almighty  chooses  the  instruments  to  carry  out  his 
designs,  taking  one  of  the  people  to  be  a  leader  of  the 
people.  He  who  took  David  from  the  sheepfold  to  be 
the  King  of  Israel  took  Abraham  Lincoln  from  the 
humble  surroundings  of  his  early  life  to  lead  a  nation 
through  the  most  awful  crisis  of  its  history. 

New  York  City. 

p 


WHAT   GENEKAL   SHEKMAN  THOUGHT   OF 

LINCOLN. 

THE  NOBLEST  OF  MEN— NATURE'S  ORATOR. 

BY  THE  REV.  GEORGE  W.   PEPPER, 
Captain  and  Chaplain  op  the  Eightieth  Ohio  Volunteebs. 

In  a  book  which  I  had  written  upon  General  Sherman's 
campaigns  and  of  which  he  spoke  kindly,  there  was  a 
reference  to  a  visit  which  I  made  to  General  Lee,  who 
spoke  kindly  of  Grant's  terms.  In  referring  to  this, 
General  Sherman  said :  "  General  Lee  always  seemed  to 
me  to  be  a  man  of  solid  sense,  fully  alive  to  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  important  station  he  occupies,  sincerely 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  people  over  whom  he 
wields  such  vast  influence,  and  is  indefatigable  in  ways 
and  means  for  their  physical,  mental  and  moral  elevation. 
And  there  is  not  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  South  to-day 
who  possesses  the  confidence  of  the  people  as  General 
Lee.  But  how  such  a  man,  with  revolutionary  blood  in 
his  veins,  educated  by  the  Government,  could  take  up  the 
sword  against  the  Union  consecrated  by  a  hundred  years 
of  unexampled  prosperity,  is  a  mystery  I  cannot  under- 
stand." 

I  mentioned  to  him  that  when  at  Savannah  General 
Howard  gave  me  a  letter  to  a  Methodist  pastor,  asking 
the  use  of  his  church  for  me  to  preach  in  to  the  Union 

210 


WHAT  GEN.   SHERMAN  THOUGHT  OF  LINCOLN.     211 

soldiers.  "  Yes/'  said  Sherman,  "  Howard  is  a  Christian ; 
he  possesses  a  combination  of  personal  courage  and  purity 
of  character  and  Christian  manhood  seldom  witnessed  in 
war.  In  the  darkest  and  most  trying  hours  I  always 
found  him  hopeful,  cheerful  and  ready." 

Contrary  to  my  expectations,  he  spoke  in  the  highest 
terms  of  Logan,  remarking  that  General  Logan's  oratory 
was  not  his  only  attractive  quality.  "  I  always  liked  him 
for  his  patriotism,  for  his  eloquence.  That  one  sentence 
of  his  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  War,  '  The  men  of  the 
Northwest  will  hew  their  way  to  the  Gulf  with  their 
swords,'  added  thousands  of  soldiers  to  the  ranks.  He 
was  not  formed  of  the  stuff  of  which  parasites  are 
made." 

But  it  was  for  Lincoln  that  he  had  words  of  warmest 
praise.  Lincoln  was  "  the  purest,  the  most  generous,  the 
most  magnanimous  of  men.  He  will  hold  a  place  in  the 
world's  history  loftier  than  that  of  any  king  or  conqueror. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  the  parliaments  of  Europe,  that  the 
people  throughout  the  civilized  world  should  everywhere 
speak  of  him  with  reverence ;  for  his  work  was  one  of 
the  greatest  labors  a  human  intellect  ever  sustained." 

I  asked  him  his  opinion  of  Lincoln's  eloquence.  His 
answer  was :  "  I  have  seen  and  heard  many  of  the  famous 
orators  of  our  country,  but  Lincoln's  unstudied  speeches 
surpassed  all  that  I  ever  heard.  I  have  never  seen  them 
equalled,  or  even  imitated.  It  was  not  scholarship;  it 
was  not  rhetoric ;  it  was  not  elocution ;  it  was  the  un- 
affected and  spontaneous  eloquence  of  the  heart.  There 
was  nothing  of  the  mountain  torrent  in  his  manner  —  it 
was  rather  the  calm  flow  of  the  river." 

During  this  conversation  Sherman  was  full  of  enthu- 
siastic admiration  for  the  old  soldiers.     He  was  proud  to 


212  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

be  the  commander  of  such.  men.  He  told  with  what  a 
thrill  of  admiration  the  friends  at  home  would  speak  in 
the  years  to  come  of  their  sieges,  their  battles  and  their 
victories,  and  quoted  Sir  John  Moore's  dying  words 
after  Corunna :  "  I  hope  they  will  do  me"  justice  at 
home." 

I  told  him  that  his  soldiers  were  equally  attached  to 
their  old  General,  and  I  gave  him  the  following  incident 
as  one  proof:  At  Kaleigh,  N.  C,  when  his  treaty  with 
Johnston  had  been  rejected,  some  of  the  professed  relig- 
ious journals  of  the  North  had  written  extremely  bitter 
and  untruthful  articles  as  to  Sherman's  motives  in  ac- 
cepting the  surrender  of  Johnston,  going  so  far  as  to  say 
that  the  terms  were  inspired  by  Eoman  Catholic  influ- 
ences. These  religious  Cassandras  scattered  these  papers 
all  over  the  country;  all  the  venerable  old  women  be- 
lieved that  the  country  was  ruined.  Bundles  of  these 
newspapers  were  sent  to  the  army;  the  soldiers  at 
Kaleigh  were  so  enraged  that  they  collected  the  obnox- 
ious sheets  in  a  pile  and  set  fire  to  them  to  the  song  of 

"John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 
But  his  soul  goes  marching  on." 

This  was  the  only  opportunity  I  ever  enjoyed  of  a 
long  conversation  with  General  Sherman,  and  my  remem- 
brance of  him  is  as  vivid  and  fresh  at  this  hour  as  when 
it  took  place.  He  was  a  soldier  cast  in  the  mould  of 
Eoman  firmness,  the  very  ideal  of  such  a  warrior  as  might 
have  commanded  the  Tenth  Legion.  He  combined  with 
qualities  renowned  in  war  others  not  less  heroic ;  for  no 
heart  was  more  distinguished  for  kindly  and  generous 
affections.     Under  that  singular,  wiry  exterior  nature 


WHAT  GEN   SHERMAN  THOUGHT  OF  LINCOLN     213 

had  implanted  a  spirit  of  fire  and  an  irresistible  energy 
which  reminds  one  of  the  Italian  exploits  of  Lannes  or 
the  victorious  intrepidity  of  Nelson. 

11  Free  as  he  was  in  act  and  mind, 
He  leaves  no  braver  heart  behind." 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 


AS  LINCOLN  APPEAEED  IN  THE  WAR 

DEPARTMENT. 

BY  ALBERT   B.  CHANDLER, 

President  and  General  Manager  Postal  Telegeaph  Co. 

During  the  War  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  be  assigned  to 
duty  in  the  Military  Telegraph  Office,  in  the  War 
Department  at  Washington.  An  important  part  of  my 
duty  was  to  translate  "received"  cipher  messages  and 
prepare  "  sent "  messages  for  transmission  in  cipher, 
for  the  President,  Secretary  of  War,  General-in-Chief 
and  other  principal  officers  of  the  Government.  It  was 
Mr.  Lincoln's  habit  to  visit  this  office  almost  daily,  and 
sometimes  oftener;  and  he  probably  spent  more  hours 
there,  from  the  beginning  of  1863  to  the  end  of  his  life, 
than  in  any  other  one  place,  except  the  White  House. 

On  the  evening  of  August  7th,  1863,  while  I  was  aLone 
in  the  office,  Mr.  Lincoln  came  in  bringing  a  long  mes- 
sage which  he  had  written  with  his  own  hand,  addressed 
to  Governor  Seymour,  of  New  York.  He  sat  down  at  a 
desk  and  carefully  revised  it,  and  then  called  me  to  sit 
by  him  while  he  read  it,  so  that  I  might  understand  it, 
and  see  that  it  was  properly  transmitted.  He  explained 
to  me  something  of  the  occasion  of  it,  a  special  mes- 
senger having  come  over  from  New  York  with  a  long 
message  from  Governor  Seymour,  urging,  among  other 
things,  that  the   draft  should   be  suspended  until   the 

214 


IN  THE   WAR  DEPARTMENT.  215 

United  States  Supreme  Court  had  decided  as  to  the  con- 
stitutionality of  the  draft  law. 

He  told  me  a  funny  story  about  a  Boston  minister 
who  had  been  drafted,  and  the  criticism  that  he  made 
upon  that  method  of  recruiting  the  army,  the  point  of 
which  I  failed  to  note,  and  cannot  now  recall.  The  mes- 
sage to  Governor  Seymour  was,  in  part,  as  follows  : 

"Your  communication  of  the  3d  instant  has  been  received  and 
attentively  considered. 

"I  cannot  consent  to  suspend  the  draft  in  New  York,  as  you 
request,  because,  among  other  reasons,  time  is  too  important. 

"  I  shall  direct  the  draft  to  proceed  in  all  the  districts,  drawing, 
however,  at  first  from  each  of  the  four  districts,  to  wit :  the  2d, 
4th,  6th  and  8th,  only  2200,  being  the  average  quota  of  the  other 
class.  After  this  drawing  these  four  districts,  and  also  the  17th 
and  29th,  shall  be  carefully  re-enrolled,  and,  if  you  please,  agents 
of  yours  may  witness  every  step  of  the  process.  Any  deficiency 
which  may  appear  by  the  new  enrolment  will  be  supplied  by  a 
special  draft  for  that  object,  allowing  due  credit  for  volunteers  who 
may  be  obtained  from  these  districts  respectively  during  the  inter- 
val. And  at  all  points,  so  far  as  consistent  with  practical  conven- 
ience, due  credit  will  be  given  for  volunteers.  And  your  Excellency 
shall  be  notified  of  the  time  fixed  for  commencing  a  draft  in  each 
district. 

"  I  do  not  object  to  abide  a  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  or  of  the  judges  thereof,  on  the  constitutionality  of  the 
draft  law.  In  fact,  I  should  be  willing  to  facilitate  the  obtaining 
of  it ;  but  I  cannot  consent  to  lose  the  time  while  it  is  being 
obtained.  We  are  contending  with  an  enemy  who,  as  I  under- 
stand, drives  every  able-bodied  man  he  can  reach  into  his  ranks 
very  much  as  a  butcher  drives  bullocks  into  a  slaughter  pen.  No 
time  is  wasted,  no  argument  is  used.  This  produces  an  army 
which  will  soon  turn  upon  our  now  victorious  soldiers  already  in 
the  field,  if  they  shall  not  be  sustained  by  recruits  as  they  should 
be.  It  produces  an  army  with  a  rapidity  not  to  be  matched  on 
our  side,  if  we  first  waste  time  to  re-experiment  with  the  volunteer 
system,  already  deemed  by  Congress,  and  palpably,  in  fact,  so  far 


216  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

exhausted  as  to  be  inadequate.  And  then  more  time  to  obtain  a 
court  decision  as  to  whether  a  law  is  constitutional  which  requires 
a  part  of  those  not  now  in  the  service  to  go  to  the  aid  of  those  who 
are  already  in  it ;  and  still  more  time  to  determine,  with  absolute 
certainty,  that  we  get  those  who  are  to  go  in  the  precisely  legal 
proportion  to  those  who  are  not  to  go. 

"  My  purpose  is  to  be  in  my  action  just  and  constitutional,  and 
yet  practical  in  performing  the  important  duty  with  which  I  am 
charged,  of  maintaining  the  unity  and  the  free  principles  of  our 
common  country." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  kindness  of  heart  was  often  exhibited. 
On  several  occasions  he  came  to  the  office  near  midnight 
with  a  message  written  with  his  own  hand,  and  acting  as 
his  own  messenger,  in  order  that  there  should  be  no  mis- 
take or  delay  in  bringing  respite  to  a  condemned  soldier. 
I  think  he  never  failed  to  interpose  his  power  to  prevent 
the  execution  of  a  soldier  for  sleeping  on  his  post,  or  any- 
other  offence  than  a  wilful  and  malicious  act ;  and  even 
in  such  cases  when  brought  to  his  attention,  he  made  the 
most  careful  review  of  the  facts,  and  always  seemed  more 
anxious  to  find  the  offender  innocent  than  guilty ;  and 
when  guilty,  he  was  disposed  to  take  into  consideration, 
as  far  as  possible,  any  extenuating  circumstances,  in  favor 
of  the  wrongdoer. 

On  New  Year's  morning,  1864,  as  I  entered  the  upper 
hall  of  the  War  Department,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  about 
opening  the  door  of  the  Military  Telegraph  Office.  A 
woman  stood  in  the  hall  crying.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  ob- 
served this,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  seated  he  said  to 
Major  Eckert:  "What  is  that  woman  crying  about  just 
outside  your  door  ?  "  The  Major  replied  that  he  did  not 
know.  "  I  wish  you  would  go  and  see,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln. 
So  the  Major  went  out  and  learned  that  the  woman  had 
come  to  Washington  expecting  to  be  able  to  go  to  the 


IN  THE   WAR  DEPARTMENT.  217 

army  and  see  her  soldier  husband,  which  was  not  alto- 
gether unusual  for  ladies  to  do,  while  the  army  was  in 
winter  quarters;  but  very  strict  orders  had  recently 
been  issued  prohibiting  women  from  visiting  the  army, 
and  she  found  herself,  with  her  child,  in  Washington, 
incurring  much  more  expense  than  she  supposed  would 
be  necessary,  with  very  little  money,  and  in  great  grief. 
This  being  explained  to  the  President,  he  said,  in  his 
frank,  off-hand  way,  "Come  now,  let's  send  her  down; 
what  do  you  say?"  The  Major  explained  the  strict 
orders  that  the  department  had  lately  issued,  the  pro- 
priety of  which  Mr.  Lincoln  recognized,  but  he  was  still 
unwilling  to  yield  his  purpose.  Finally  the  Major  sug- 
gested that  a  leave  of  absence  to  come  to  Washington 
might  be  given  the  woman's  husband.  The  President 
quickly  adopted  the  suggestion,  and  directed  that  Colonel 
Hardie,  an  assistant  Adjutant-General  on  duty  in  an 
adjoining  room,  should  make  an  official  order  permitting 
the  man  to  come  to  Washington.  After  reading  over 
the  messages  which  had  been  received  since  his  last  pre- 
vious visit  to  the  office,  he  returned  to  the  White  House, 
having  lightened  the  burden  of  one  sad  heart  just  one 
year  after  sending  forth  his  immortal  Emancipation 
Proclamation. 

A  sister  of  mine,  who  had  married  in  Southern  Georgia 
before  the  War,  was  anxious  to  visit  her  Northern  home 
in  the  spring  of  1864.  After  long  delays  I  received  in- 
formation of  her  purpose,  and  of  the  supposed  fact  that 
it  would  be  practicable  for  her  to  pass  through  the  Con- 
federate lines.  Being  uncertain  whether  she  could  best 
accomplish  this  at  Savannah  or  at  Richmond,  I  explained 
the  circumstances  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  when  he  at  once  wrote 
permission  for  her  to  pass  through  the  Federal  lines,  first 


218  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  another  of  like  import, 
the  one  to  be  sent  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Army 
of  the  James,  in  front  of  Bichmond,  General  Butler ;  and 
the  other  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Department  of  the 
South,  General  Gilmore.  But  after  making  the  long  and, 
at  that  time,  exceedingly  tedious  journey  to  Bichmond, 
she  found  it  impossible  to  overcome  the  objections  of 
Confederate  officers,  so  that  she  was  compelled  to  return 
to  her  Southern  home  without  reaching  ground  whereon 
Mr.  Lincoln's  authority  would  have  afforded  her  ample 
protection. 

His  fondness  for  story-telling  and  the  extent  to  which 
he  indulged  it  is  well  known,  and  has  not,  I  think,  been 
overstated.  His  sense  of  the  ridiculous  was  exceedingly 
keen,  his  memory  surprising,  and  his  power  of  illustra- 
tion, and  even  of  mimicry,  was  often  demonstrated  in 
the  use  of  very  simple,  sometimes  funny,  and  sometimes 
undignified  stories.  One  of  the  first  I  remember  hap- 
pened in  this  wise :  He  had  just  seated  himself  at  a  desk, 
with  the  latest  messages  before  him,  when  he  heard  a 
newsboy  on  the  street  crying,  "  Here's  yer  Philadelphia 
Inquiry"  He  mimicked  the  peculiar  pronunciation  and 
tone  of  the  boy,  and  then  said :  "  Did  I  ever  tell  you 
the  joke  the  Chicago  newsboys  had  on  me  ?  "  Beplying 
negatively,  he  related :  "  A  short  time  before  my  nomi- 
nation I  was  at  Chicago  attending  a  lawsuit.  A  photog- 
rapher of  that  city  asked  me  to  sit  for  a  picture,  and  I 
did  so.  This  coarse,  rough  hair  of  mine  was  in  a  partic- 
ularly bad  tousle  at  the  time,  and  the  picture  presented 
me  in  all  its  fright.  After  my  nomination,  this  being 
about  the  only  picture  of  me  there  was,  copies  were  struck 
to  show  those  who  had  never  seen  me  how  I  looked. 
The  newsboys  carried  them  around  to  sell,  and  had  for 


IN  THE   WAR  DEPARTMENT.  219 

their  cry,  "  Here's  yer  Old  Abe ;  '11  look  better  when  he 
gets  his  hair  combed " ;  and  he  laughed  heartily  as  he 
finished  the  relation. 

It  had  so  happened  for  several  days  that  Major  Eckert 
had  been  out  whenever  the  President  came  into  the  office. 
Coming  in  one  day  and  finding  the  Major  counting  money 
at  his  desk,  Mr.  Lincoln  remarked  that  he  believed  the 
Major  never  came  to  the  office  any  more  except  when  he 
had  money  to  count.  The  Major  declared  that  his  being- 
out  when  the  President  happened  to  come  in  was  simply 
a  coincidence,  and  this  reminded  him,  the  Major,  of  a 
story  :  "  A  certain  tailor  in  Mansfield,  Ohio,  was  very  styl- 
ish in  dress  and  airy  in  manner.  Passing  a  shopkeeper's 
door  one  day  the  shopkeeper  puffed  himself  up,  and  gave 
a  long  blow  expressive  of  the  inflation  of  the  conceited 
tailor,  who  indignantly  turned  and  said :  '  I'll  learn  you 
not  to  blow  when  I'm  passing,'  to  which  the  shopkeeper 
instantly  replied :  '  And  I'll  teach  you  not  to  pass  while 
I'm  blowing.' "  The  President  said  that  was  very  good 
—  very  like  a  story  which  he  had  heard  of  a  man  who 
was  driving  through  the  country  in  an  open  buggy,  and 
was  caught  at  night  in  a  pouring  shower  of  rain.  He 
was  hurrying  forward  toward  shelter  as  fast  as  possible ; 
passing  a  farmhouse,  a  man,  apparently  struggling  with 
the  effects  of  bad  whisky,  thrust  his  head  out  of  the 
window  and  shouted  loudly,  "  Hullo !  hullo !  "  The 
traveller  stopped  and  asked  what  was  wanted.     "  Nothing 

of  you,"  was  the  reply.     "  Well,  what  in  the  d do  you 

shout  hullo  for  when  people  are  passing  ?  "  angrily  asked 

the  traveller.  "  Well,  what  in  the  d are  you  passing  for 

when  people  are  shouting  hullo  ?  "  replied  the  inebriate. 

The  Major  then  asked  Mr.  Lincoln  if  the  story  of  his 
interview  with  complainants  against  General  Grant  was 


220  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

true,  viz.,  that  he  had  inquired  solicitously  where  the 
General  got  his  liquor,  and  on  being  told  that  the  infor- 
mation could  not  be  given,  the  President  replied  that 
he  would  very  much  like  to  find  out,  so  that  he  might 
get  enough  to  send  a  barrel  to  each  one  of  his  generals. 
Mr.  Lincoln  said  that  he  had  heard  the  story  before,  and 
that  it  would  have  been  very  good  if  he  had  said  it,  but 
that  he  didn't.  He  supposed  it  was  "  charged  to  him,  to 
give  it  currency."  He  then  said  the  original  of  the  story 
was  in  King  George's  time.  Bitter  complaints  were 
made  to  the  King  against  his  General  Wolfe  in  which 
it  was  charged  that  he  was  mad.  The  King  replied  an- 
grily :  "  I  wish  he  would  bite  some  of  my  other  generals 
then."  He  then  mentioned  a  bright  saying  which  he 
had  recently  heard  during  the  riots  in  New  York  in  which 
the  Irish  figured  most  conspicuously:  "It  is  said  that 
General  Kilpatrick  is  going  to  New  York  to  quell  the 
riot ;  but  his  name  has  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

On  one  occasion  we  had  received  news  of  a  series  of 
raids  into  rebel  territory.  Stoneman  had  just  returned 
from  an  expedition  into  East  Tennessee  and  Southwestern 
Virginia.  Sherman  had  divided  the  Confederacy  and 
safely  reached  Savannah.  Grierson  and  Wilson  had  each 
been  heard  from  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  and  no  State 
seemed  free  from  our  incursions.  The  President  said  it 
put  him  in  mind  of  a  weary  traveller  in  one  of  the  West- 
ern States,  who,  after  journeying  all  day,  came  at  night 
to  a  small  log  cabin.  He  went  in  and  asked  the  occu- 
pants if  he  could  be  accommodated  with  food  and 
lodging.  He  was  told  they  could  provide  him  with  a 
place  to  sleep,  but  that  there  was  not  a  "  bite  of  victuals  " 
in  the  house.  The  traveller  gladly  accepted  the  pallet  of 
straw,  and  soon  fell  asleep ;  but  was  awakened  in  a  short 


IN  THE   WAR  DEPARTMENT.  221 

time  by  whispers  which  disclosed  that  there  was  a  cake 
baking  in  the  ashes,  and  the  woman  and  her  husband 
were  congratulating  themselves  on  the  way  in  which 
they  had  kept  their  food  and  deceived  the  hungry  travel- 
ler. Feeling  angry  that  they  should  have  told  him  they 
had  nothing  to  eat  when  it  was  not  true,  and  that  they 
were  now  "chuckling"  over  it,  he  determined  to  spoil 
their  game.  He  began  to  move  restlessly,  and  finally 
got  up  and  complained  of  feeling  very  badly.  The 
woman  asked  him  what  was  the  matter.  He  told  her  he 
was  much  distressed  in  mind  and  could  not  sleep,  and 
went  on  to  say  that  his  father  when  he  died  had  left  him 
a  large  farm,  but  that  he  had  no  sooner  taken  possession 
than  mortgages  began  to  appear,  and,  taking  the  fire 
poker,  he  said :  "  My  farm  was  situated  like  this,"  illus- 
trating by  drawing  the  poker  through  the  ashes,  so  as  to 
entirely  surround  the  ash  cake  with  the  lines.  "  First  one 
man  got  so  much  of  it  off  on  this  side;  then  another 
brought  in  a  mortgage  and  took  off  another  piece  there ; 
then  another  there,  and  another  there,  and  there  and 
there,"  drawing  the  poker  through  the  ashes  each  time  to 
explain  locations,  "  until,"  said  he,  "  there  was  nothing  of 
the  farm  left  to  me  at  all,  which  I  presume  is  the  case 
with  your  cake."  "And  I  reckon,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln, 
"  that  the  prospect  is  now  very  good  for  soon  having  the 
Rebellion  as  completely  cut  up  as  that  ash  cake  was." 

When  he  had  finished  reading  telegrams  announcing 
Sheridan's  last  fight  with  Early,  in  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley, he  said  he  thought  Early's  army  was  in  about  the 
same  condition  as  a  dog  he  once  heard  a  man  say  he  had 
killed  by  filling  a  piece  of  punk  with  powder,  and,  set- 
ting it  on  fire,  he  clapped  it  inside  of  a  biscuit,  and,  as 
the  dog  rushed  at   him  as  usual,  tossed  the  biscuit  to 


222  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

him  ;  in  an  instant  the  dog  snapped  it  np  and  swallowed 
it.  Presently  the  fire  touched  the  powder  and  away 
went  the  dog,  his  head  in  one  place,  a  leg  here  and 
another  there,  and  the  different  parts  of  him  scattered 
about.  "  But,"  said  the  man,  "  as  for  the  dog,  as  a  dog, 
I  was  never  able  to  find  him  " ;  "  and  this,"  he  said,  "  was 
very  much  the  condition  of  Early's  army,  as  an  army" 

Mr.  Stanton  came  one  evening  from  his  room  and 
stood  in  the  doorway  of  the  telegraph  office,  without 
coming  in.  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  notice  him  at  first ;  as 
he  looked  up  from  his  writing  and  perceived  him  stand- 
ing there,  he  bowed  low  and  said,  with  much  gravity : 
"  Good-evening,  Mars." 

The  only  occasion  on  which  I  knew  him  to  use  a  pro- 
fane word  was  on  receipt  of  a  telegram  from  General 
Burnside,  then  in  Greenville,  East  Tennessee,  announc- 
ing that  he  expected  a  portion  of  his  command  to  be  at 
Jonesboro  at  a  certain  time.  Eagerly  looking  over  the 
map  to  see  the  position  of  the  force  under  Burnside's 
command,  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  portion  referred  to 
was  marching  away  from  instead  of  to  the  rescue  of 
General  Rosecrans,  as  ordered.  Mr.  Lincoln  reread  the 
dispatch,  thinking   there   must  be    some   mistake,   and 

repeated  to  himself  :  "  Jonesboro  ?  Jonesboro  ?     D 

Jonesboro ! "  and  he  immediately  addressed  a  telegram 
to  Burnside,  saying : 

"  If  you  are  to  do  any  good  to  Kosecrans  it  will  not  do  to  waste 
time  at  Jonesboro.  It  is  already  too  late  to  do  the  most  good  that 
might  have  been  done ;  but  I  hope  it  is  not  too  late  to  do  some 
good.    Please  do  not  lose  a  moment." 

During  my  knowledge  of  him  Mr.  Lincoln  always 
dressed  in  plain  black,  his  clothes  sometimes  "  showing 
wear."  I  think  I  never  saw  him  wear  an  overcoat ; 
instead  of  that  he  wore  an  ample,  plain  but  peculiarly 


IN  THE    WAR  DEPARTMENT.  223 

figured  gray  shawl,  and  his  usual  way  of  disposing  of  it 
as  he  entered  the  office  was  to  hang  it  across  the  top  of 
the  inner  door,  which  was  nearly  always  standing  open, 
and  so  high  as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  a  man  of  ordinary 
height.  When  sitting  at  a  desk  writing  briefly  he  some- 
times assumed  a  half-kneeling,  half-sitting  posture,  with 
one  knee  on  the  carpet.  When  composing  at  some  length 
it  was  his  habit  to  look  out  of  the  window  and,  appar- 
ently unconsciously,  scratch  his  head,  particularly  his 
temples,  often  moving  his  lips  in  whispers,  until  he  had 
his  sentence  framed,  when  he  would  put  it  on  paper. 
He  wrote  rather  slowly  but  quite  legibly,  taking  care  to 
punctuate  accurately.  His  spelling  was  faultless,  which 
is  not  true  of  all  great  men,  even  those  of  education ;  and 
yet  on  two  or  three  occasions  he  asked  me,  while  writing, 
as  to  the  use  of  one  or  two  "  l's "  or  two  "  t's."  He 
rarely  erased  or  interlined ;  and  his  diction,  so  peculiar 
to  himself,  always  seemed  to  me  the  perfection  of  plain, 
simple  English.  He  sometimes  read  aloud,  and  on  one 
occasion  I  remember  his  reading  to  me  at  some  length, 
rather  slowly  and  thoughtfully,  and  purposely  mispro- 
nouncing certain  words,  placing  the  accent  on  the  wrong 
syllable  and  the  like.  He  was  at  this  time  sitting  opposite 
me  beside  the  large  table  on  which  I  was  writing,  his  chair 
leaned  back  against  the  wall,  his  legs  crossed,  one  foot 
resting  upon  the  round  of  his  chair  and  the  other  sus- 
pended in  space.  During  this  reading  he  stopped  occa- 
sionally to  remark  upon  the  subject  of  his  reading  —  a 
detailed  description  of  a  battle  —  and  one  of  his  remarks, 
I  remember,  was  upon  the  meagreness  of  adjectives  in 
the  language  to  express  the  different  degrees  of  feeling 
and  action. 

New  York  City. 


LINCOLN  AND  THE  ABOLITIONIST  EIOTS. 

TO  PREVENT  HIS  INAUGURATION. 
BY  AAEON  M.   POWELL. 

Though  one  of  the  early  Abolitionists  and  editor  of 
their  organ,  the  Anti-Slavery  Standard,  I  was  not  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  Mr.  Lincoln.  I  can  recall  two  or 
three  things  of  interest  in  connection  with  him,  however ; 
for  instance,  his  speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute,  in  1859, 
which  undoubtedly  opened  the  way  for  his  becoming 
President.  After  his  election  there  was  a  systematic 
attempt  made  to  prevent  his  inauguration.  The  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Circle,  whose  headquarters  were  in  the 
South,  had  their  allies  and  coworkers  among  the  Demo- 
crats of  the  North.  About  the  time  of  Lincoln's  in- 
auguration we  antislavery  workers  were  holding  a  series 
of  conventions  in  New  York  and  other  cities.  The  per- 
sons just  referred  to  used  the  occasion  of  these  meetings 
for  a  series  of  mobs,  extending  from  New  York  to  Utica, 
Syracuse,  Eochester,  Buffalo,  etc.  Wherever  we  ap- 
peared we  were  confronted  with  a  disorderly  crowd  seem- 
ingly organized  by  the  same  general  hand.  In  Utica  the 
mob  had  taken  possession  of  the  hall  before  we  could 
organize  our  convention,  and  we  had  to  hold  our  meet- 
ing in  a  private  house.  In  connection  with  these  mobs 
they  circulated  reports  in  the  newspapers  that  the  North 

224 


LINCOLN  AND   THE  ABOLITIONIST  RIOTS.         225 

repudiated  the  Abolitionists  and  Lincoln.  In  Utica  we 
learned  that  the  evening  before  we  were  mobbed  a  group 
of  men  had  gathered  in  a  lawyer's  office.  They  pre- 
pared resolutions  which  were  sent  out  the  next  day  repu- 
diating the  Abolitionists  and  Lincoln.  The  central  figure 
of  that  group,  as  we  learned  afterward  upon  investiga- 
tion, was  none  other  than  Horatio  Seymour.  The  pur- 
pose of  these  riots  and  mobs  was  to  give  the  impression 
to  the  South,  and  the  country  generally,  that  the  North, 
as  well  as  the  South,  was  inimical  to  Lincoln's  inaugu- 
ration. 

At  Syracuse  we  were  driven  from  our  hall,  and  a  free- 
speech  meeting  was  organized,  at  which  the  Rev.  M.  E. 
Strieby,  now  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  American  Mis- 
sionary Association,  presided.  I  attempted  to  speak,  but 
being  recognized  as  one  of  the  Abolitionists  who  were  to 
have  addressed  the  convention,  there  was  a  great  howl 
from  the  disorderly  element  present.  In  the  rear  of 
the  hall,  directing  the  movements  of  the  mob,  was  Col. 
John  A.  Green,  one  of  Horatio  Seymour's  lieutenants. 
Susan  B.  Anthony,  Charles  L.  Eedmond,  a  colored  man, 
the  Eev.  Samuel  J.  May  and  the  Rev.  Beriah  Green 
were  present  as  speakers  on  this  occasion.  Just  as  we 
left  the  platform  the  mob,  largely  composed  of  men 
from  the  Salt  Works,  led  by  Colonel  Green,  opened  on 
us  a  shower  of  eggs.  At  a  meeting  in  Auburn,  which  we 
were  allowed  to  hold,  they  put  pepper  on  the  stoves, 
nearly  suffocating  speakers  and  audience,  especially  the 
former,  who  could  not  reach  the  windows  handily.  In 
Rochester  we  were  again  confronted  by  the  mob.  In 
Boston  George  W.  Smalley,  now  of  the  New  York  Trib- 
une, and  some  other  young  men  slept  in  the  house  of 
Wendell  Phillips  as  his  body  guard. 


226  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

All  these  riotous  proceedings  were  carried  on,  as  we 
were  assured,  to  create  a  sentiment  against  Lincoln  and 
to  prevent  his  inauguration.  The  reader  will  recall  how 
he  had  to  change  his  plans  about  going  through  Balti- 
more to  the  Capital,  which  he  had  to  reach  in  a  sort  of 
clandestine  manner. 

New  York  City. 


LINCOLN  AND  CHARLES  A.  DANA. 

BY  DAVID  HOMER   BATES, 
General  Manager  Bradstreet's  Agency,  New  York. 

"With  malice  toward  none,  and  charity  for  all"  — 
"The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous 
altogether."  The  above,  taken  from  Lincoln's  second 
inaugural,  March  4th,  1865,  so  well  illustrates  his  loving 
nature  and  his  trust  in  God,  that  I  am  led  to  speak  of 
them,  and  to  add  my  humble  tribute  to  his  memory. 

The  writer,  then  a  mere  youth,  first  met  Abraham 
Lincoln  in  the  month  of  April,  1861,  only  ten  days  after 
Sumter  had  been  fired  upon.  With  three  other  tele- 
graph operators,  namely,  David  Strouse  and  Samuel 
Brown,  both  since  deceased,  and  Richard  O'Brien,  now 
Superintendent  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany at  Scranton,  Penn.,  I  started  from  Altoona,  Penn., 
under  orders  from  Col.  Thomas  A.  Scott,  General 
Manager  Military  Railroads  and  Telegraphs,  to  report 
to  Simon  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War.  The  rebel  Gil- 
mor,  from  Baltimore,  having  destroyed  the  bridges  over 
the  Bush  and  Gunpowder  Rivers,  we  were  forced  to  go 
by  water  from  Havre  de  Grace  to  Annapolis.  We  sailed 
on  the  "  Maryland,"  which  was  afterward  burned  in 
New  York  harbor,  and  since  reconstructed  for  service 
between  Mott  Haven  and  Jersey  City.  On  the  boat  was 
Orinsby  M.  Mitchell,  celebrated  astronomer  and  soldier. 

227 


228  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Arriving  at  Annapolis,  we  reported  to  General  Butler, 
who  had  just  established  his  headquarters  at  the  Naval 
Academy,  after  the  brief  and  exciting  outbreak  of  the 
Baltimore  mob. 

From  Annapolis  we  travelled  to  Washington  by  rail, 
and  there  reported  at  the  War  Department  for  orders. 
The  Secretary's  office  was  in  the  southeast  room,  on  the 
second  floor  of  that  historical  building.  The  telegraph 
instruments  were  iD  the  adjoining  room,  and  as  we  were 
ushered  in,  Mr.  Lincoln  appeared  with  Secretary  Simon 
Cameron,  Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  and  one  or  two  others. 
Cameron  was  by  no  means  small  of  stature,  while  Gen- 
eral Scott  was  massive,  as  well  as  tall.  At  the  moment, 
the  latter  was  the  chief  object  of  our  curiosity, 
although  the  kindly  face  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  at- 
tractive. It  was  my  lot  during  the  succeeding  four 
years,  until  the  very  night  of  his  taking  off  by  the 
bullet  of  Booth,  to  see  him  nearly  every  day,  as  he  gen- 
erally came  to  the  telegraph  room  early  in  the  morning, 
and  also  in  the  evening,  so  that  he  might  receive  the 
latest  telegrams  from  the  various  military  headquarters. 

These  telegrams  were  mostly  in  cipher,  and  it  was 
sometimes  a  task  to  decipher  a  difficult  message  because 
of  telegraphic  errors.  His  interest  and  anxiety  at  such 
periods  were  very  great,  especially  when  the  dispatches 
referred  to  a  battle.  Charles  A.  Dana,  now  editor  of  the 
New  York  Sun,  had  been  assigned  to  the  duty  of  visiting 
Grant's  headquarters  in  Mississippi,  and  afterward  in 
Tennessee,  and  his  telegraphic  reports  were  generally 
full,  and  always  of  great  interest.  Mr.  Lincoln  looked 
forward  eagerly  to  Mr.  Dana's  accounts  of  the  various 
engagements  with  the  enemy.  The  latter's  strong  virile 
manner  of  expressing  himself  on  important  questions  is 


LINCOLN  AND   CHARLES  A.   DANA.  229 

well  known ;  and  as  they  were  audibly  read  by  Mr. 
Lincoln,  possibly  merited  criticisms  were  softened  in  the 
reading  by  side  remarks.  It  was  his  habit  to  read  aloud, 
and  to  bring  his  listeners  into  the  current  of  his  thoughts 
by  question  or  suggestion. 

In  our  cipher  code  there  were  several  words,  each 
translated  "Jefferson  Davis."  Other  words  stood  for 
"Robert  E.  Lee,"  and  so  on.  Whenever  Mr.  Lincoln 
came  to  these  words,  he  would  shorten  or  transform 
them  into  something  else,  for  instance,  "Jeffy  D.," 
"  Bobby  Lee,"  etc.,  so  that  there  seemed  to  go  out  from 
him  at  such  times,  and  indeed  on  many  other  occasions, 
a  gentle,  kindly  influence.  He  seemed  to  be  thinking  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Rebellion  as  wayward  sons  rather  than 
as  traitorous  brethren. 

Once,  not  more  than  sixty  days  before  his  death,  he 
came  into  the  telegraph  office  with  a  photograph  of  him- 
self, which  had  been  addressed  to  his  wife,  and  sent 
through  the  mail.  The  sender  had  added  to  the  picture 
a  rope,  which  passed  around  the  neck,  and  then  upward, 
tautly  drawn,  as  indicating  his  hellish  desire.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln remarked  that  it  had  caused  Mrs.  Lincoln  some 
anxiety,  which  he  did  not  share,  although  he  added  some 
words  of  sorrow,  that  any  human  being  could  be  so 
devoid  of  feeling  as  thus  to  wound  an  innocent  woman. 
As  for  himself,  he  received  many  similar  missives,  and 
had  come  to  look  upon  them  with  nothing  more  than  a 
passing  thought. 

As  above  indicated,  Mr.  Lincoln  made  his  accustomed 
call  at  the  War  Department  Telegraph  Office  on  the  after- 
noon of  Friday,  April  14th,  1865,  the  day  of  his  assassina- 
tion. He  came  earlier  than  usual,  however,  because,  as 
was  afterward  learned,  of  his  expected  visit  to  the  theatre. 


230  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Although  I  was  on  duty  at  the  time,  I  have  no  distinct 
remembrance  of  the  occasion,  for  what  occurred  a  few 
hours  later  was  so  appalling  that  memory  retained  noth- 
ing clearly,  except  that  which  took  place  after  the  awful 
news  was  received.  First  came  word  that  the*  President 
was  shot;  then,  horror  following  fast  upon  horror,  the 
savage  attack  upon  Secretary  Seward,  the  frustrated 
efforts  to  reach  and  kill  Secretary  Stanton,  Vice-Presi- 
dent Johnson  and  other  members  of  the  Government; 
and  as  the  successive  accounts  crystallized,  a  fearful 
dread  filled  every  soul  lest  it  should  be  found  that  the 
entire  Cabinet  had  been  murdered.  An  hour  or  more  of 
this  awful  suspense,  and  we  received  a  message  from 
Major  Eckert,  who  had  gone  quickly  with  Secretary 
Stanton  to  the  house  on  Tenth  Street,  to  which  the  Presi- 
dent had  been  carried.  This  news  simply  assured  us  of 
the  present  safety  of  Stanton,  while  confirming  our  worst 
fears  concerning  the  President. 

A  relay  of  messengers  was  established  between  Major 
Eckert  and  the  War  Department,  and  all  night  long  they 
carried  their  portentous  news  in  the  form  of  bulletins, 
in  the  handwriting  of  Secretary  Stanton,  addressed  to 
Gen.  John  A.  Dix,  Commanding  General,  New  York 
City,  and  which  were  distributed  to  the  press  through- 
out the  country.  As  these  bulletins  were  spelled  out  in 
the  Morse  telegraph  characters  over  the  wires  leading 
North,  it  seemed  to  those  of  us  (as  I  remember,  Albert 
Chandler,  Charley  Tinker,  and  two  or  three  others) 
whose  fingers  manipulated  the  keys,  that  never  were 
sadder  signals  formed.  Our  hearts  were  at  once  stunned 
and  on  fire. 

The  awfulness  of  the  scenes  transpiring  before  us 
hushed  us  into  silence,  except  for  an  occasional  outburst 


LINCOLN  AND  CHARLES  A.  DANA.  231 

of  sorrow  and  amazement ;  and  tears,  of  which  none  of 
us  were  ashamed,  were  freely  shed.  As  the  hours  slowly- 
passed,  hope  revived  as  to  the  President's  life  being 
spared;  but  at  last,  about  7.30  a.m.,  the  tension  broke 
and  we  knew  for  a  certainty  that  he  was  dead.  Then  we 
looked  out  upon  the  light  of  day,  which  before  we  had 
not  observed,  or  at  least  with  consciousness  ;  and  the 
force  of  the  blow  seemed  to  be  increased  by  recalling  the 
previous  day  when  we  had  last  seen  the  President.  We 
thought  of  his  daily  visits,  and  most  of  all,  in  the  close 
presence  of  our  great  sorrow,  did  we  think  of  his  loving 
heart,  and  the  many  evidences  he  had  given  us  of  the 
entire  absence  from  that  heart  of  anger  or  resentment 
toward  his  country's  enemies. 

Let  me  close  this  cursory  reference  by  a  short  quota- 
tion from  a  midnight  speech  made  by  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the 
night  of  November  10th,  1864,  as  he  was  leaving  the 
War  Department  after  the  welcome  news  of  his  re-elec- 
tion to  the  Presidency : 

"  So  long  as  I  have  been  here  I  have  not  willingly  planted  a 
thorn  in  any  man's  bosom.  While  I  am  deeply  sensible  of  the 
high  compliment  of  re-election,  and  duly  grateful,  as  I  trust  to 
Almighty  God,  for  having  directed  my  countrymen  to  a  right  con- 
clusion, as  I  think  for  their  own  good,  it  adds  nothing  to  my  satis- 
faction that  any  other  man  may  be  disappointed  or  pained  by  the 
result.  May  I  ask  those  who  have  not  differed  from  me  to  join 
with  me  in  this  same  spirit  toward  those  that  have  ?  " 


LINCOLN'S  FAREWELL  TO   SPRINGFIELD. 

TRUST  IN  DIVINE  GUIDANCE. 
BY  GEOEGE  W.  F.  BIEOH,  D.D. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  member  of  the  congregation  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Springfield,  111.  His  pas- 
tors were  Drs.  John  G-.  Bergen,  James  Smith  and  John  H. 
Brown,  all  of  whom  are  dead. 

I  went  to  Springfield  a  licentiate  in  February,  1861, 
and  became  the  pastor  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church 
of  that  city,  remaining  in  charge  until  September,  1869. 
Several  households  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  family  connections 
were  members  of  my  congregation. 

Of  course  I  was  in  touch  with  many  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
intimate  companions  for  eight  years  and  more,  and  am 
quite  familiar  with  his  personal  history;  yet  my  peculiar 
interest  in  him  arises  from  the  fact  that  at  a  turning- 
point  of  my  life  I  met  him  at  one  of  the  turning-points 
of  his  grand  career.  The  first  three  days  of  my  ministry 
in  Springfield  were  his  last  three  days  at  his  old  home, 
so  that  I  have  but  one  personal  reminiscence  of  Mr. 
Lincoln.  It  was  an  event  of  probably  not  more  than 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes.  There  was  but  time  for  a 
handshake  and  to  hear  him  say  good  by  to  his  old  friends 
and  neighbors  of  Springfield.  As  I  stretch  my  vision 
across  the  thirty-four  years  which  have  rolled  away  since 

232 


LINCOLN1  S  FAREWELL   TO  SPRINGFIELD.         233 

the  rainy  morning  of  February  11th,  1861,  I  count  that 
brief  experience  one  of  the  great  privileges  of  my  life. 
The  lapse  of  time  only  deepens  the  impression  of  the 
long,  gaunt  form  with  its  thoughtful  face,  as  in  the  true 
simplicity  of  his  real  greatness  Abraham  Lincoln  lingers 
on  the  rear  platform  of  the  car  to  take  his  last  look  at 
the  old  home  and  to  say  the  last  word  to  his  townsmen. 
It  was  as  if  he  would  carry  them  away  in  his  big  heart 
when  he  said : 

"  My  friends  :  No  one  not  in  my  position  can  realize  the  sadness 
I  feel  at  this  parting.  To  this  people  I  owe  all  that  I  am.  Here  I 
have  lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Here  my  children 
were  born,  and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I  know  not  how 
soon  I  shall  see  you  again.  I  go  to  assume  a  task  more  difficult 
than  that  which  has  devolved  upon  any  other  man  since  the  days 
of  Washington.  He  never  would  have  succeeded  except  for  the 
aid  of  Divine  Providence,  upon  which  he  at  all  times  relied.  I  feel 
that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the  same  Divine  blessing  which  sus- 
tained him ;  and  on  the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place  my  reliance 
for  support.  And  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  all  pray  that  I  may 
receive  that  Divine  assistance,  without  which  I  cannot  succeed, 
but  with  which  success  is  certain.  Again,  I  bid  you  an  affection- 
ate farewell." 

It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  man  who  could  say 
such  a  "  good  by  "  could  not  do  otherwise  than  write  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation  and  the  Gettysburg  Oration. 
The  Springfield  Address  is  the  declaration  of  the  purpose 
of  a  conscientious  statesman. 

If  my  life  has  any  inspirations  my  glimpse  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  is  one  of  them. 

.  New  York  City. 


A  SIDE-LIGHT   AND  AN   INCIDENT. 

LINCOLN'S  DESCRIPTION  OF  SHERIDAN. 

BY  CHAELES   HAMLIN, 
Late  Adjutant-General  United  States  Volunteers. 

No  estimate  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  a  leader  and  ruler 
would  be  complete  that  fails  to  notice  and  take  into  ac- 
count his  ready  ability  to  dispatch  with  ease  matters 
arising  for  daily  decision  during  the  Presidency.  Many 
hours  of  every  day  were  consumed  in  receiving  and 
listening  to  callers,  and  it  is  to  his  lasting  credit  that  he 
turned  no  one  away  unheard.  Besides  his  industry  and 
orderly  method  of  transacting  business,  evident  to  all, 
he  had  a  reserved  power,  inherent  and  inborn,  of  which 
he  must  have  been  conscious  early  in  life.  This  reserved 
power,  akin  to  repose  in  character,  or,  to  use  his  own 
words,  "  the  courage  to  follow  to  the  end  the  right  as 
God  gave  him  to  see  the  right,"  will  serve  to  explain  his 
mastership  in  great  crises.  The  most  original,  self-pos- 
sessed man  of  the  time,  he  refused  to  abandon  after  that 
celebrated  midnight  conference  with  his  friends  and 
advisers,  in  the  historical  campaign  of  1858,  the  great 
principle  contained  in  his  "  house-divided-against-itself  " 
speech.  Other  examples  will  occur  to  the  reader  —  his 
determination  to  preserve  the  whole  Union,  and  his 
patience  in  abiding  the  time  when  he  could  issue  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation. 

234 


A  SIDE-LIGHT  AND  AN  INCIDENT.  235 

In  speaking  of  his  easy  dispatch  of  business,  I  recall 
an  incident,  of  which  I  was  a  witness,  illustrating  Mr. 
Lincoln's  thorough  knowledge  of  legislative  details  and 
his  power  of  gently  refusing  to  grant  requests  when 
obliged  to  do  so. 

Major  B.  Weller  Hoxsey,  of  the  Excelsior  Brigade, 
with  whom  I  was  well  acquainted,  and  who  had  been 
brevetted  for  gallantry  in  action,  found  his  commission 
expired  and  himself  mustered  out  of  the  service  one 
morning  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  in  front  of  Peters- 
burg, in  the  summer  of  1864.  Having  become  previ- 
ously wounded,  so  that  he  could  no  longer  march  on  foot 
with  his  regiment,  he  had  acted  as  ordnance  staff  officer 
for  Generals  Berry,  Carr,  Humphreys  and  Prince,  com- 
manding the  second  division  of  the  Third  Army  Corps  — 
the  famous  Joe  Hooker  division — from  Fredericksburg 
to  the  Wilderness,  after  much  hard  fighting  on  the  Pen- 
insula, next  under  Pope,  and  at  Gettysburg.  Being  thus 
incapacitated  by  reason  of  his  wounds  to  accept  a  com- 
mission in  the  regular  army,  and  desiring  to  remain  in 
the  service  until  the  close  of  the  War,  he  came  from 
Virginia  to  Washington  to  obtain  an  appointment  on  the 
volunteer  staff.  He  accordingly  sought  an  interview 
with  President  Lincoln,  who  at  once  received  him  and 
heard  his  application  and  modest  request  to  be  returned 
to  active  duty  as  a  staff  officer.  He  presented  testimo- 
nials of  his  high  service  tendered  by  many  prominent 
officers,  and  I  added  my  own  evidence  of  his  fine  stand- 
ing and  ability.  The  President  having  invited  us  to  sit, 
pulling  up  some  chairs  for  the  purpose,  turned  to  a  shelf 
near  his  right  hand  and  took  down  a  large  volume  of  the 
Laws  of  Congress.  He  opened  to  the  page  and  section 
of  the  Act ;  put  his  finger  on  the  line,  and  read  aloud  the 


236  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

words  which  authorized  him  to  make  staff  appointments 
only  on  the  request  of  the  general  commanding  a  brigade, 
division  or  corps.  The  Major  admitted  that  he  had  not 
brought  with  him  such  an  application,  for  he  had  not 
thought  it  necessary.  "It  cannot  be  done,"said  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  "  without  such  a  request.  I  have  no  more 
power  to  appoint  you,  in  the  absence  of  such  request, 
than  I  would  have  to  marry  a  woman  to  any  man  she 
might  desire  for  her  husband  without  his  consent.  Bring 
me  such  an  application  and  I  will  make  it  at  once,  for  I 
see  you  deserve  it." 

He  could  easily  avoid  a  direct  answer  when  he  thought 
it  was  impolitic  to  make  known  his  opinions,  and  evade 
inquisitive  visitors  who  asked  questions  simply  to  gratify 
their  curiosity.  His  reply  to  one  of  the  latter,  who 
wanted  to  know  his  opinion  of  Sheridan  at  the  time  he 
had  just  come  from  the  West  to  take  command  of  the 
cavalry  under  Grant,  is  too  good  to  be  lost.  Turning  to 
his  inquirer,  he  asked:  "Have  you  seen  Sheridan ?" 
"  No,"  was  the  answer.  "  Then,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I 
will  tell  you  just  what  kind  of  a  chap  he  is.  He  is  one 
of  those  long-armed  fellows  with  short  legs,  that  can 
scratch  his  shins  without  having  to  stoop  over  to  do  it." 

Bangor,  Mb. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER. 

INCIDENTS    OF   HIS   PRACTICE    IN   ILLINOIS  —  INTER- 
ESTING CASES  — A  NOTABLE  ADDRESS   TO  A  JURY. 

BY  JUDGE  LAWEENCE  WELDON, 
Of  the  United  States  Court  of  Claims. 

(Fkom  an  Interview.) 

[Judge  Lawrence  Weldon,  of  the  United  States  Court  of  Claims, 
is  one  of  the  very  few  men  in  the  legal  profession,  now  living,  who 
knew  Abraham  Lincoln  well,  as  a  lawyer.  The  acquaintance, 
which  ripened  into  warm  personal  friendship,  began  in  the  early 
day  of  Illinois,  when  no  sign  foretold  the  future  of  the  greatest 
American  produced  by  America.  Judge  Weldon  was  a  young  man 
just  turned  twenty-four  and  admitted  to  the  bar,  who  removed 
from  Ohio  to  Illinois,  hung  out  his  shingle  in  Clinton,  a  village  of 
less  than  one  thousand  population  ;  and  two  months  after,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1854,  met  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the  first  time.  Mr.  Weldon,  as 
a  young  law  student  in  Ohio,  had  heard  more  or  less  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, when  the  latter  was  a  member  of  Congress,  a  few  years 
before.  Now  that  he  had  cast  his  fortunes  in  the  same  State,  but 
a  dozen  miles  from  Mr.  Lincoln's  home,  and  that  his  professional 
duties  would  bring  him  on  the  same  circuit,  naturally  increased  the 
young  lawyer's  interest  in  the  man  he  already  knew  a  good  deal  of 
by  hearsay  —  an  interest  still  further  weighted  when  he  found  that 
by  the  retirement  of  Judge  Logan,  a  then  prominent  lawyer,  from 
active  practice,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  regarded  as  the  leader  of  the  bar 
throughout  the  State.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  at  that  time  scarcely  forty- 
five  years  of  age,  but  was  alluded  to  in  popular  parlance  as  "  old 
Mr.  Lincoln,"  and  frequently  would  be  pointed  out  by  boys  of  the 

237 


238  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

town  with  the  exclamation,  "  There  —  there  goes  old  Mr.  Lincoln ! " 
—  a  term  meaning  no  disrespect,  but,  on  the  contrary,  rather  friendly- 
curiosity  and  admiration.  A  man  of  forty-five  is  much  too  young 
to  be  sensitive  about  his  age,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  seemed  always 
amused.  When  asked  how  long  they  had  been  calling  him  old,  he 
replied:  "Oh,  they  commenced  that  trick  before  I  was  thirty." 

—  Janet  Jennings.] 

It  was  at  Bloomington,  during  the  fall  term  of  Court, 
that  I  first  saw  Mr.  Lincoln,  whose  appearance  made  a 
strong  impression  on  me. 

I  can  see  Mr.  Lincoln  now,  through  the  fading  memo- 
ries of  forty  years,  as  clearly  as  if  it  were  yesterday. 
He  was  always  clean  shaven,  wearing  no  beard,  neatly 
dressed,  but  extremely  plain,  and  apparently  more  indif- 
ferent to  fashion  than  others  of  our  profession  out  there, 
even  in  that  day.  I  was  young,  and  probably  noticed 
Mr.  Lincoln's  clothes  more  particularly,  because  I  ex- 
pected a  man  who  had  been  in  Congress  to  dress  a  little 
more  fashionably.  Mr.  Lincoln  came  over  from  the  court- 
house to  the  hotel  where  the  lawyers  put  up,  as  we  used 
to  say,  while  attending  court.  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who 
was  then  making  a  campaign  in  defence  of  the  Kansas 
Nebraska  bill,  was  at  the  hotel.  Judge  Douglas  pre- 
sented me  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  said :  "  Mr.  Weldon  is 
a  young  lawyer  from  Ohio  who  has  come  to  make  his 
home  in  Illinois."  Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  cordial,  and, 
shaking  hands  with  me,  replied :  "  Well,  I  hope  he  will 
find  he  has  made  a  good  trade  from  Ohio  to  Illinois. " 

I  remember  when  we  were  introduced  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln at  once  impressed  me  by  his  unaffected,  sincere 
manner  and  precise,  accurate  mode  in  which  he  stated 
his  thoughts  even  when  talking  about  commonplace 
things.     We  were  in  Judge  Douglas's  rooms,  where  they 


REMINISCENCES  OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER.      239 

talked  about  old  times  very  pleasantly,  and  during  the 
conversation  Mr.  Douglas  broadened  the  hospitalities  by 
asking  Mr.  Lincoln  to  drink  something,  following  the 
custom  which  then  generally  prevailed  of  keeping  liquors 
in  his  rooms.  Mr.  Lincoln  declined,  and  Mr.  Douglas, 
in  a  tone  of  surprise,  said :  "  Why,  do  you  belong  to  the 
temperance  society  ?  " 

Mr.  Lincoln  replied :  "  I  do  not  in  theory,  but  I  do  in 
fact  belong  to  the  temperance  society  in  this,  to  wit  — 
that  I  do  not  drink  anything,  and  have  not  done  so  for 
very  many  years." 

The  conversation  then  drifted  to  other  channels,  and 
shortly  after  Mr.  Lincoln  went  out,  J.  W.  Fell,  then  and 
now  a  leading  citizen  of  Illinois,  came  in  and  said  there 
was  a  strong  desire  among  the  citizens  to  have  a  discus- 
sion by  Mr.  Douglas  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  that  this 
would  afford  the  crowds  then  in  town,  the  luxury  of 
hearing  the  acknowledged  champions  on  both  sides.  It 
was  plain  to  see  that  the  proposition  irritated  Judge 
Douglas,  and  he  asked,  with  considerable  majesty  of 
manner :  "  Whom  does  Mr.  Lincoln  represent  in  this 
campaign  —  Abolitionist  or  Old  Line  Whig  ?  "  Mr.  Fell 
said  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  Old  Line  Whig.  Douglas  re- 
torted : 

"  Oh  yes,  I  am  now  in  the  region  of  the  Old  Line  Whig.  When 
I  am  in  Northern  Illinois  I  am  assailed  by  an  Abolitionist,  when  I 
get  to  the  centre  I  am  attacked  by  an  Old  Line  Whig,  when  I  go  to 
Southern  Illinois  I  am  beset  by  an  Anti-Nebraska  Democrat.  It 
looks  to  me  like  dodging  a  man  all  over  the  State.  If  Mr.  Lincoln 
wants  to  make  a  speech  he  had  better  get  a  crowd  of  his  own,  for  I 
most  respectfully  decline  to  hold  a  discussion  with  him." 

Of  course,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
proposed  discussion  except,  perhaps,  to  say  he  was  will- 


240  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ing  to  speak.  He  was  not  aggressive  in  the  defence  of  his 
doctrines  or  enunciation  of  his  opinions,  but  he  was  brave 
and  fearless  in  the  protection  of  what  he  believed  to  be 
right.  In  1854  and  down  to  the  commencement  of  the 
War,  the  circuit  practice  in  Illinois  was  still  in  vogue, 
and  the  itinerant  lawyer  was  as  sure  to  come  as  the  trees 
to  bud  or  leaves  to  fall.  Among  these  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
the  star.  He  stood  above  and  beyond  them  all.  He 
travelled  the  circuit,  attending  the  courts  in  the  district 
of  Judge  David  Davis,  afterward  a  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  this  district  extending  from  the  centre  to 
the  eastern  boundary  of  the  State,  right  on,  spring  and 
fall,  until  nominated  for  the  Presidency.  Mr.  Lincoln 
liked  the  atmosphere  of  a  courthouse,  and  seemed  con- 
tented and  happy  when  Judge  Davis  was  on  the  bench, 
and  there  were  before  him  the  "  twelve  good  and  lawful 
men  "  constituting  the  jury.  He  was  among  friends  and 
acquaintances  in  every  county,  and  always  knew  the  lead- 
ing men  on  the  jury.  He  could  broadly  be  called  an  in- 
dustrious lawyer,  and  when  his  adversary  presented  a 
reasonably  good  affidavit  for  continuance,  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  willing  that  the  case  should  go  over  until  the  next 
term.  No  condition  could  arise  in  a  case  beyond  his 
capacity  to  furnish  an  illustration  with  an  appropriate 
anecdote  or  story.  Judge  Davis  was  always  willing  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  should  tell  a  story  in  court,  even  if  it  dis- 
turbed the  gravity  of  the  situation,  and  no  one  enjoyed 
these  occasions  of  mirth  more  than  his  Honor  on  the 
bench,  Judge  Davis  himself.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Lin- 
coln was  always  respectful  and  deferential  toward  the 
court,  and  never  forgot  the  professional  amenities  of  the 
bar.  He  was  a  lawyer  who  dealt  with  the  deep  philos- 
ophy of  the  law,  always  knew  the  cases  which  might  be 


REMINISCENCES  OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER.       241 

quoted  as  absolute  authority,  but  beyond  that  contented 
himself  in  the  application  and  discussion  of  general 
principles.  He  moved  cautiously,  and  never  examined 
or  cross-examined  a  witness  to  the  detriment  of  his  side. 
If  the  witness  told  the  truth  he  was  safe ;  but  woe  betide 
the  unlucky  and  dishonest  individual  who  suppressed  or 
colored  the  truth  against  Mr.  Lincoln's  side.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's speeches  to  the  jury  were  most  effective  specimens 
of  forensic  oratory.  He  talked  the  vocabulary  of  the 
people,  and  the  jury  understood  every  point  he  made 
and  every  thought  he  uttered.  He  never  made  display 
for  mere  display,  but  his  imagination  was  simple  and  pure 
in  the  richest  gems  of  true  eloquence.  He  constructed 
short  sentences  of  small  words,  and  never  wearied  the 
mind  with  mazes  of  elaboration.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  par- 
ticularly kind  to  young  lawyers,  and  I  remember  with 
what  confidence  I  always  went  to  him,  because  I  was  cer- 
tain he  knew  all  about  the  matter  and  would  cheerfully 
tell  me.  I  went  to  him  one  day  with  a  paper  I  did  not 
understand.  How  long  ago  it  seems !  —  but  I  see  him 
now,  standing  in  the  corner  of  the  old  courtroom,  and 
as  I  approached  him  he  said :  "  Wait  till  I  fix  this  plug 
for  my  '  gallus,'  and  I  will  pitch  into  it  like  a  dog  at  a 
root." 

I  then  saw  that  he  was  trying  to  connect  his  suspender 
with  his  trousers  by  making  a  "  plug  "  act  the  part  of  a 
button.  Mr.  Lincoln  probably,  like  other  people  of  that 
day  and  section,  had  been  taught  to  say  "  gallows,"  and  he 
never  adopted  the  modern  word  "  suspenders."  He  used 
old-fashioned  words  whenever  they  could  be  sustained  as 
proper,  and  homely  phrase,  but  was  never  ungrammatical. 
Indeed,  he  was  singularly  correct  and  grammatical.  He 
could  not  perhaps  be  called  a  great  lawyer,  measured  by 


242  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  extent  of  his  acquirement  of  legal  knowledge.  He 
was  not  an  encyclopedia  of  cases,  but  in  the  text-books  of 
the  profession  and  in  the  clear  perception  of  legal  princi- 
ples, with  natural  capacity  to  apply  them,  he  had  very 
great  ability. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  in  my  early  ac- 
quaintance with  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  lawsuit  in  which  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  counsel  for  the  plaintiff  and  I  was  counsel 
for  the  defendant.  Even  then,  in  a  trial  that  was  the 
sensation  of  an  obscure  village  on  the  prairies,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln showed  that  supreme  sense  of  justice  to  God  and  his 
fellow-men,  which  but  a  few  years  later  made  him  the 
friend  of  the  oppressed  and  liberator  of  the  slave. 

This  lawsuit  was  in  the  spring  of  1856,  two  years  after 
I  had  made  my  "  trade  from  Ohio  to  Illinois,"  and  the 
case  was  tried  where  the  parties  lived  —  in  the  little 
village  of  Clinton. 

It  was  a  family  quarrel  between  two  brothers-in-law, 
Jack  Dungee  and  Joe  Spencer.  Dungee  was  a  Portuguese 
who  came  up  from  a  Portuguese  settlement  in  Tennessee 
to  make  his  home  in  Illinois.  He  was  extremely  dark- 
complexioned,  but  not  a  bad-looking  fellow ;  and,  after  a 
time,  he  married  Spencer's  sister,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Spencer  family,  as  shown  at  the  trial.  The  Spencers  were 
called  well-to-do  people ;  and  Joe  Spencer,  who  was  worth 
probably  five  or  six  thousand  dollars,  was  regarded  as 
well  off  for  that  early  day  in  the  West.  I  don't  remem- 
ber the  origin  of  the  quarrel,  but  it  became  bitter ;  and 
the  last  straw  was  laid  on  when  Spencer  called  Dungee  a 
"nigger,"  and  followed  it  up,  they  said,  by  adding  "a 
nigger  married  to  a  white  woman."  The  statute  of  Illi- 
nois made  it  a  crime  for  a  Negro  to  marry  a  white  woman, 
and,  because  of  that,  the  words  were  slanderous.     I  could 


REMINISCENCES   OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER.      243 

not  believe  Joe  Spencer,  though  a  rough,  ignorant  fel- 
low, would  be  such  a  fool  as  to  involve  his  sister  by  this 
charge  against  his  brother-in-law.  He  did  not  deny  call- 
ing Dungee  a  "  nigger,"  but  denied  the  words  which 
made  the  complaint  in  the  declaration,  on  which  Dungee, 
through  Mr.  Lincoln,  brought  the  suit  for  slander,  claim- 
ing, I  think,  two  thousand  dollars  damages.  C.  H.  Moore, 
a  well-known  lawyer  of  Illinois,  was  associated  with  me 
as  counsel  for  Spencer.  Judge  David  Davis  was  on  the 
bench,  and  the  suit  was  brought  in  the  De  Witt  Circuit 
Court.  When  the  case  came  up,  Mr.  Moore  and  myself 
appeared  for  the  defence  and  demurred  to  the  declara- 
tion, which,  to  the  annoyance  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  court 
sustained.  Whatever  interest  Mr.  Lincoln  took  in  the  case 
before  that  time,  his  professional  pride  was  now  aroused 
by  the  fact  that  the  court  had  decided  that  his  papers 
were  deficient.  Looking  across  the  trial  table  at  Moore 
and  myself  and  shaking  his  long,  bony  finger,  he  said : 
"  Now,  by  Jing,  I  will  beat  you  boys  !  " 

"  By  Jing  "  was  the  extent  of  his  expletives,  and  be- 
yond that  he  did  not  go  in  the  expression  of  surprise  or 
indignation.  At  the  next  term  of  the  court  Mr.  Lincoln 
appeared  with  his  papers  amended,  and  fully  determined 
to  make  good  his  promise  to  "  beat  you  boys  " ;  and  we 
thought  his  chances  pretty  good  to  do  it,  too.  We  knew 
our  man  was  a  fool  not  to  have  settled  it ;  but  still  we 
were  bound  to  defend  and  clear  him,  if  we  could.  Though 
it  was  nearly  forty  years  ago,  I  shall  never  forget  Mr. 
Lincoln's  looks  as  he  rose  to  state  his  case  to  the  jury. 
He  was  not  excited,  but  manifested  a  great  earnestness, 
not  only  because  of  his  client,  but  he  also  wanted  to  re- 
deem himself  from  the  implication  arising  from  the  fact 
that  he  had  been,  as  the  lawyers  say,  "  demurred  out  of 


244  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLX. 

court."     I  recall  some  of  his  opening  sentences  when  he 
said: 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  :  I  do  not  believe  that  the  best  way 
to  build  up  and  maintain  a  good  reputation  is  to  go  to  law  about 
it,  and  during  my  practice  at  the  bar  it  has  been 'my  uniform 
policy  to  discourage  slander  suits.  But,  gentlemen,  in  this  case, 
forbearance  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue,  and  this  courtroom,  dedi- 
cated to  the  sacred  cause  of  justice,  is  the  only  place  where  my 
client  can  seek  protection  and  vindication.  If  the  malice  of  the 
defendant  had  rested  satisfied  with  speaking  the  words  once  or 
twice,  or  even  thrice,  my  client  would  have  borne  it  in  silence. 
But  when  he  went  from  house  to  house,  gabbling,  yes,  gabbling 
about  it,  then  it  was  that  my  client  determined  to  bring  this  suit." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  force  of  the 
word  "  gabbling,"  as  emphasized  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  was 
as  splendid  in  its  dramatic  effect  as  the  word  "  fail "  in 
Richelieu,  when  uttered  by  Booth  or  Barrett.  Another 
equally  dramatic  and  powerful  stroke,  was  his  direct 
reference  to  Spencer's  accusation  that  Dungee  was  a 
"nigger."  It  had  a  curious  touch  of  the  ludicrous,  by 
Mr.  Lincoln's  pronunciation  of  a  word,  which  instead 
of  detracting  seemed  to  add  to  the  effect.  I  hear  him 
now,  as  he  said : 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Jury:  My  client  is  not  a  Negro,  though  it 
is  no  crime  to  be  a  Negro  —  no  crime  to  be  born  with  a  black  skin. 
But  my  client  is  not  a  Negro.  His  skin  may  not  be  as  white  as 
ours,  but  I  say  he  is  not  a  Negro,  though  he  may  be  a  Moore." 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,"  interrupted  Judge  Davis,  scarcely  able 
to  restrain  a  smile,  "  you  mean  a  Moor,  not  Moore." 

"Well,  your  Honor,  Moor,  not  C.  H.  Moore,"  replied 
Mr.  Lincoln,  with  a  sweep  of  his  long  arm  toward  the 
table  where  Moore  and  I  sat.  "  I  say  my  client  may  be 
a  Moor,  but  he  is  not  a  Negro." 


REMINISCENCES  OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER.      245 

Iii  the  argument  of  the  case  on  the  testimony  Mr. 
Lincoln  made  a  most  powerful  and  remarkable  speech, 
abounding  in  wit,  logic  and  eloquence  of  the  highest 
order.  His  thoughts  were  clothed  in  the  simplest 
garb  of  expression,  and  in  words  understood  by  every 
juror  in  the  box.  After  the  instructions  were  given  by 
the  court  the  jury  retired,  and  in  a  few  moments  returned 
with  a  judgment  for  the  plaintiff,  in  a  sum  which  was  a 
large  amount  for  those  days,  though  I  do  not  recall  the 
exact  figures.  Of  course  it  was  going  to  break  up  our 
man,  who,  strange  to  say,  could  not  realize  the  situation, 
but  wanted  to  carry  the  case  to  the  Supreme  Court.  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  said  his  client  did  not  want  to  make  money 
out  of  the  suit,  so  we  told  Spencer  the  best  thing  he 
could  do  would  be  to  get  Dungee  to  remit  some  of  the 
damage  and  be  thankful.  He  finally  accepted  this  ad- 
vice, and  we  went  to  Mr.  Lincoln  and  said  : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,  you  have  beaten  us,  as  you  said  you  would.  We 
want  now  to  ground  the  weapons  of  our  unequal  warfare,  and  as 
you  said  your  client  did  not  want  to  make  money  out  of  the  suit 
we  thought  you  might  get  him  to  remit  some  of  the  judgment. 
We  know  Spencer  has  acted  the  fool,  but  this  judgment  will  break 
him  up." 

Said  Mr.  Lincoln : 

11  Well,  I  will  cheerfully  advise  my  client  to  remit  on  the  most 
favorable  terms.  The  defendant  is  a  fool.  But  he  has  one  virtue. 
He  is  industrious  and  has  worked  hard  for  what  he  has,  so  I  am 
not  disposed  to  hold  him  responsible.  If  every  fool  was  to  be 
dealt  with  by  being  held  responsible  in  money  for  his  folly,  the 
poorhouses  of  the  country  would  have  to  be  enlarged  very  much 
beyond  their  present  capacity." 

Well,  the  result  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  advice  to  his  client 
was  that  Dungee  agreed  to  remit  the  whole  judgment,  by 


246  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Spencer  paying  the  costs  of  the  suit  and  Mr.  Lincoln's 
fee.  Mr.  Lincoln  then  proposed  to  leave  the  amount  of 
his  fee  to  Moore  and  myself.  We  protested  against  this, 
and  insisted  that  Mr.  Lincoln  should  fix  the  amount  of 
his  own  fee.  After  a  few  moments'  thought  he  said : 
"Well,  gentlemen,  don't  you  think  I  have  honestly 
earned  twenty-five  dollars  ?  "  We  were  astonished,  and 
had  he  said  one  hundred  dollars  it  would  have  been  what 
we  expected.  The  judgment  was  a  large  one  for  those 
days ;  he  had  attended  the  case  at  two  terms  of  court, 
had  been  engaged  for  two  days  in  a  hotly-contested  suit, 
and  his  client's  adversary  was  going  to  pay  the  bill. 
The  simplicity  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character  in  money  mat- 
ters is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact,  that  for  all  this  he 
charged  twenty-five  dollars. 

The  first  time  I  ever  heard  Mr.  Lincoln's  favorite 
verses,  "  Oh,  why  should  the  Spirit  of  Mortal  be  Proud," 
he  repeated  them.  It  was  during  a  term  of  court,  in  the 
same  year,  at  Lincoln,  a  little  town  named  for  Mr.  Lin- 
coln. We  were  all  stopping  at  the  hotel,  which  had  a 
very  big  room  with  four  beds,  called  the  "lawyers'  room." 
Some  of  us  thin  fellows  doubled  up;  but  I  remember 
that  Judge  Davis,  who  was  as  large  then  as  he  was  after- 
ward, when  a  justice  on  the  Supreme  Bench,  always  had 
a  bed  to  himself.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  early  riser,  and 
one  morning,  when  up  early  as  usual  and  dressed,  he  sat 
before  the  big,  old-fashioned  fireplace  and  repeated  aloud 
from  memory  that  whole  hymn.  Somebody  asked  him 
for  the  name  of  the  author;  but  he  said  he  had  never 
been  able  to  learn  who  wrote  it,  but  wished  he  knew. 
Nobody  in  the  room  could  tell ;  but  I  know  that  I,  and 
I  will  venture  to  say  that  all  the  rest,  soon  after  looked 
it  up,  so  impressed  were  we  by  its  beauty  when  Mr.  Lin- 


REMINISCENCES  OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LA  WYER.      247 

coin  repeated  it  that  morning.  But  I  always  felt  that  it 
would  not  have  been  quite  the  same  had  anybody  but 
Mr.  Lincoln  repeated  it.  The  hymn  seemed  to  fit  the 
man.  I  remember  there  were  a  great  many  guesses,  and 
some  said  Shakespeare  must  have  written  it.  But  Mr. 
Lincoln,  who  was  better  read  in  Shakespeare  than  any  of 
us,  said  they  were  not  Shakespeare's  words.  I  made  a 
persistent  hunt  for  the  author,  and  years  after  found  the 
hymn  was  written  by  an  Englishman,  William  Knox, 
who  was  born  in  1789,  and  died  in  1825. 

It  was  in  the  campaign  of  1858  that  Mr.  Lincoln  made 
a  great  speech  at  Springfield,  on  the  seventeenth  of  June. 
That  speech  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  he  ever 
delivered.  It  was  the  one  in  which  he  used  the  expres- 
sion, "  A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."  In 
the  latter  part  of  July,  Douglas  began  his  regular  cam- 
paign in  De  Witt  County,  which  was  a  strong  Buchanan 
county.  We  wrote  Mr.  Lincoln  he  had  better  come  and 
hear  Douglas  speak  at  Clinton,  which  he  did.  There  was 
an  immense  crowd  for  a  country  town,  and  on  the  way  to 
trie  grove  where  the  speaking  took  place,  Mr.  Lincoln 
said  to  me :  "  Weldon,  I  have  challenged  Judge  Douglas 
for  a  discussion.  What  do  you  think  of  it  ? '  I  replied, 
"  I  approve  your  judgment  in  whatever  you  do." 

We  went  over  a  little  to  one  side  of  the  crowd  and  sat 
down  on  one  of  the  boards,  laid  on  logs  for  seats.  Doug- 
las spoke  over  three  hours  to  an  immense  audience,  and 
made  one  of  the  most  forcible  political  speeches  I  ever 
heard.  As  he  went  on  he  referred  to  Lincoln's  Spring- 
field speech,  and  became  very  personal,  and  I  said  to  Mr. 
Lincoln : 

"  Do  you  suppose  Douglas  knows  you  are  here  ?  " 

"  Well,"  he  replied,  "  I  don't  know  whether  he  does  or 


248  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

not ;  he  has  not  looked  in  this  direction.  But  I  reckon 
some  of  the  boys  have  told  him  I  am  here." 

When  Douglas  finished  there  was  a  tremendous  shout 
for  "  Lincoln,"  which  kept  on  with  no  let-up.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln said :  "  What  shall  I  do  ?     I  can't  speak  here." 

"  You  will  have  to  say  something,"  I  replied.  "  Sup- 
pose you  get  up  and  say  you  will  speak  this  evening  at 
the  courthouse  yard." 

Mr.  Lincoln  mounted  the  board  seat,  and  as  the  crowd 
got  sight  of  his  tall  form  the  shouts  and  cheers  were 
wild.     As  soon  as  he  could  make  himself  heard  he  said : 

"  This  is  Judge  Douglas's  meeting.  I  have  no  right,  therefore, 
no  disposition  to  interfere.  But  if  you  ladies  and  gentlemen  desire 
to  hear  what  I  have  to  say  on  these  questions,  and  will  meet  me 
this  evening  at  the  courthouse  yard,  east  side,  I  will  try  to  answer 
the  gentleman." 

Douglas  had  taken  off  his  cravat,  for  it  was  extremely 
warm,  and  he  was  now  putting  it  on  as  he  turned  in  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Both  became  posed  in  a  tab- 
leau of  majestic  power.  The  scene  was  a  meeting  of 
giants,  a  contest  of  great  men ;  and  the  situation  was  dra- 
matic in  the  extreme.  Lincoln  made  a  speech  that  even- 
ing which  in  volume  did  not  equal  the  speech  of  Douglas, 
but  for  sound  and  cogent  argument  was  the  superior. 
Douglas  had  charged  Mr.  Lincoln  with  being  in  favor  of 
Negro  equality,  which  was  then  the  bugbear  of  politics. 
In  his  speech  that  evening  Mr.  Lincoln  said : 

"Judge  Douglas  charges  me  with  being  in  favor  of  Negro 
equality,  and  to  the  extent  that  he  charges  I  am  not  guilty,  I  am 
guilty  of  hating  servitude  and  loving  freedom ;  and  while  I  would 
not  carry  the  equality  of  the  races  to  the  extent  charged  by  my 
adversary,  I  am  happy  to  confess  before  you  that  in  some  things 


REMINISCENCES  OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER.       249 

the  black  man  is  the  equal  of  the  white  man.  In  the  right  to  eat 
the  bread  his  own  hands  have  earned,  he  is  the  equal  of  Judge 
Douglas  or  any  other  living  man." 

When  Lincoln  spoke  the  last  sentence  he  had  lifted 
himself  to  his  full  height,  and  as  he  reached  his  hands 
toward  the  stars  of  that  still  night,  then  and  there 
fell  from  his  lips  one  of  the  most  sublime  expressions 
of  American  statesmanship.  The  effect  was  grand,  the 
cheers  tremendous.  After  the  meeting  his  friends  con- 
gratulated him  on  the  beauty  of  the  thought,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  said : 

"  Do  you  think  that  is  fine  ?  "  When  assured  it  was, 
he  laughingly  added :  "  Well,  if  you  think  so,  I  will  get 
that  off  again." 

It  was  in  1859,  while  attorney  for  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad,  that  in  connection  with  C.  H.  Moore,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln attended  to  the  litigation  of  the  company.  He  ap- 
peared in  one  case  which  the  company  did  not  want  to 
try  at  that  term,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  remarked  to  the  court : 
"  We  are  not  ready  for  trial." 

Judge  Davis  asked :  "  Why  is  not  the  company  ready 
to  go  to  trial  ?  " 

Mr.  Lincoln  replied:  "We  are  embarrassed  by  the 
absence,  or  rather  want  of  information  from  Captain 
McClellan." 

"  Who  is  Captain  McClellan,  and  why  is  he  not  here  ?  " 
asked  Judge  Davis. 

Mr.  Lincoln  said :  "All  I  know  of  him  is  that  he  is  the 
engineer  of  the  railroad,  and  why  he  is  not  here  deponent 
saith  not." 

In  consequence  of  Captain  McClellan's  absence  the 
case  was  continued.  Lincoln  and  McClellan  had  never 
met  up  to  that  time,  and  the  most  they  knew  of  each 


250  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

other  was  that  one  was  the  attorney  and  the  other  the  en- 
gineer of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  In  little  more  than 
two  years  from  that  time  the  fame  of  both  had  spread  as 
wide  as  civilization,  and  each  held  in  his  grasp  the  fate 
of  a  nation.  The  lawyer  was  directing  conncils  and  cab- 
inets, and  the  engineer,  subordinate  to  the  lawyer  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, was  directing  armies  greater  than  the 
combined  forces  of  Wellington  and  Napoleon  at  Waterloo. 
It  was  in  1860  at  a  State  Convention  held  at  Deca- 
tur, 111.,  to  appoint  delegates  to  Chicago,  that  Governor 
Oglesby  started  the  rail  furore.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  lived 
in  that  county  and  had  worked  on  a  farm  with  John 
Hanks,  making  rails,  but  of  course  many  years  before. 
Oglesby  arranged  that  Hanks  himself  should  march  into 
the  convention  at  the  proper  moment  with  a  rail  on  his 
shoulder,  and  if  possible,  one  of  the  identical  rails. 
When  Mr.  Lincoln  rose  to  speak  his  attention  was  called 
to  the  rail,  and  with  his  usual  readiness  he  said : 

"Fellow-citizens:  It  is  true  that  many  years  ago  John  Hanks 
and  I  made  rails  down  on  the  Sangamon.  We  made  good,  big, 
honest  rails  ;  but  whether  that  is  one  of  the  rails  I  am  not,  at  this 
distant  period  of  time,  able  to  say." 

Mr.  Lincoln  closed  his  reference  to  the  rails  with  a 
eulogy  on  free  labor,  embracing  the  finest  thoughts  of  his 
theory  on  that  subject.  And  thus  was  inaugurated  the 
rail  movement. 

A  few  weeks  after  Mr.  Lincoln  went  into  the  White 
House  he  appointed  me  United  States  Attorney,  with,  of 
course,  my  duties  in  Illinois.  But  I  always  went  to  see 
him  when  I  came  to  Washington,  and,  on  one  occasion, 
he  revived  a  story  about  a  mutual  friend  in  Illinois,  Rob- 
ert Lewis,  which  we  had  often  enjoyed  together  out  there 


REMINISCENCES   OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER.       251 

with  Mr.  Lewis  himself.  I  was  stopping  at  Willard's, 
where,  just  at  that  time,  there  were  parties  interested  in 
cotton  which  it  was  difficult  to  bring  up  from  certain 
insurrectionary  districts,  because  of  the  contest  between 
the  civil  and  military  authorities,  as  to  the  policy  of 
bringing  cotton  out  of  the  seceded  States,  permits  being 
issued  by  the  Treasury  Department,  which  were  nullified 
by  the  military.  The  gentlemen  at  Willard's  were  anx- 
ious to  learn  from  the  President,  if  possible,"  what  would 
be  the  probable  result  of  the  contest,  and  requested  me 
to  broach  the  subject,  on  my  visit  to  the  White  House. 
After  talking  with  Mr.  Lincoln  for  some  time  on  other 
matters,  I  referred  to  the  cotton  subject,  and  said  these 
gentlemen  had  requested  me  to  ask  him  how  it  would  be 
likely  to  turn  out.  The  moment  I  made  the  inquiry,  a 
smile,  amused  and  bright,  lighted  up  Mr.  Lincoln's  face, 
and  he  said : 

"  By  the  way,  what  has  become  of  our  friend,  Eobert 
Lewis?" 

I  replied  that  Mr.  Lewis  was  still  in  his  old  home, 
and  clerk  of  the  court,  as  he  had  been  for  many 
years. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  do  you  remember  a  story 
Bob  used  to  tell  us  about  going  to  Missouri  to  look  up 
some  Mormon  lands  belonging  to  his  father  ?  " 

I  replied:  "Mr.  President,  I've  forgotten  the  details 
of  the  story.     I  wish  you  would  tell  it." 

Lewis  was  a  warm  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
and  he  told  the  story  that  evening,  with  much  enjoy- 
ment, and  as  he  only  could  tell  it.  The  story  was  in 
substance  as  follows : 

When  Bob  Lewis  became  of  age  he  found  among  his 
father's  papers  some  warrants  and  patents  for  lands  in 


252  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Northeastern  Missouri,  where  attempts  at  Mormon  settle- 
ment had  been  made.  He  thought  the  best  thing  he 
could  do  would  be  to  look  up  these  lands,  see  if  they 
were  worth  anything,  and  establish  his  title.  It  was 
long  before  the  day  of  railroads,  and  Bob  started  on 
horseback,  equipped  with  a  pair  of  old  saddlebags,  in 
one  side  of  which  he  packed  his  papers,  and  in  the  other 
some  necessary  articles  of  the  toilet,  but  which  Bob  him- 
self had  said,  made  less  bulk  than  his  title  papers.  He 
travelled  a  long  way  round,  but  finally  got  into  that  part 
of  Missouri  where  he  thought  he  could  locate  his  section 
of  land,  and,  bringing  up  before  a  solitary  cabin,  hitched 
his  horse,  took  his  saddlebags,  and  knocked  at  the  door. 
A  gruff  and  not  hospitable  voice  bade  him  enter.  I  am 
sorry  I  cannot  give  in  Bob's  own  words  the  description 
of  the  interior,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  repeated  it.  The  con- 
spicuous objects,  however,  perhaps  one  might  say  orna- 
ments, were  the  proprietor,  a  lean,  lanky-looking  man, 
who  looked  to  Bob  about  eleven  feet  long,  stretched 
before  a  big  fireplace,  "  necking  "  bullets,  and  above  the 
fireplace  hung  on  a  couple  of  buck's  horns  a  rifle  which 
also  looked  about  eleven  feet  long.  The  man  looked  up 
as  Bob  entered,  but  made  no  pause  in  his  busy  occupa- 
tion of  preparing  bullets.  Bob  said  he  was  the  first  to 
pass  the  time  of  day,  and  then  he  inquired  about  the 
section  of  land  on  which  the  cabin  was  located.  The 
proprietor  knew  nothing  about  that  section,  or  any  other 
in  Missouri,  and  apparently  was  indifferent  to  his  vis- 
itor's desire  for  information.  Finally  Bob  got  out  his 
papers,  looked  them  over,  and  said : 

"  Stranger,  I  am  looking  up  some  lands  belonging  to 
my  father.  I've  got  the  titles  all  right  here  in  these 
papers,"  and  he  proceeded  to   prove  it  by  reading  the 


REMINISCENCES   OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER.      253 

papers  aloud.  When  he  had  finished,  he  said :  "  Now 
that  is  my  title  to  this  section.     What  is  yours  ?  " 

The  proprietor  of  the  cabin  by  this  time  showed  a 
slight  interest,  stopped  his  work  a  moment,  raised  him- 
self on  his  elbow  and  pointing  to  the  rifle,  said : 

"  Young  man,  do  you  see  that  gun  ? "  Mr.  Lewis 
admitted  he  did,  very  frankly. 

"Well,"  said  the  pioneer,  "that  is  my  title,  and  if 
you  don't  get  out  of  here  pretty  quick  you  will  feel  the 
force  of  it." 

Bob  hurriedly  put  his  papers  in  his  saddlebags,  dashed 
out  of  the  cabin,  mounted  his  pony  and  galloped  down 
the  road,  though  he  declared  the  proprietor  of  the  cabin 
snapped  his  gun  twice  at  him  before  he  turned  the 
corner.  But  he  never  went  back  to  disturb  that  man's 
title.  Now,  the  military  authorities  have  the  same  title 
against  the  civil  authorities  that  closed  out  Bob's  title 
to  his  Mormon  lands  in  Missouri.  The  military  have 
the  guns.  The  gentlemen  themselves  may  judge  what 
the  result  is  likely  to  be. 

When  I  returned  to  Willard's,  and  told  the  anxious 
cotton  speculators,  they  laughed  heartily  over  the  story ; 
but  they  understood  what  would  be  the  policy  of  the 
administration  as  well  as  if  a  proclamation  had  been 
issued. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a  story-teller,  but  he  had  the 
happy  faculty  of  always  being  ready  with  a  story  or 
anecdote  which  relieved  him  in  the  discharge  of  duties, 
from  the  humblest  walks  of  life  to  the  complicated 
responsibilities  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

Here  is  one  where  he  relieved  the  embarrassment  of 
his  situation  as  President  by  a  master-stroke  of  wit. 
It  was  related  to  me  by  Judge  David  Davis,  who,  while 


254  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.     ' 

on  the  Supreme  Bench,  went  to  the  White  House  with 
the  gentlemen  in  question,  and  presented  them  to  the 
President.  In  1862,  the  people  of  New  York  City 
feared  bombardment  by  Confederate  cruisers,  and  public 
meetings  were  held  to  express  the  gravity  of  the  situa- 
tion. Finally  a  delegation  of  fifty  gentlemen  represent- 
ing in  their  own  right  $100,000,000  was  selected  to  go 
to  Washington  and  see  the  President  about  the  propriety 
of  detailing  a  gunboat  to  protect  New  York  City.  The 
interview  was  arranged  with  the  President,  but  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  puzzled  to  know  what  to  say  or  do  when 
the  New  York  men  appeared.  He  said  beforehand  he 
had  no  gunboats  that  could  be  spared  from  active  service, 
but  as  they  had  come  over  for  that  purpose  he  would 
have  to  see  them.  The  delegation  went  up  to  the  White 
House  and  were  presented  by  Judge  Davis.  The  chair- 
man made  an  appeal  to  the  President  for  protection, 
and  said  they  represented  the  wealth  of  the  city  of 
New  York  —  "  one  hundred  millions  "  in  their  own  right. 
Mr.  Lincoln  heard  them  attentively,  much  impressed, 
apparently,  by  the  "  hundred  millions."  When  they  had 
concluded,  he  said : 

"  Gentlemen,  lam,  by  the  Constitution,  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  matter  of  law 
I  can  order  anything  done  that  is  practicable  to  be  done  ;  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  I  am  not  in  command  of  the  gunboats  or  ships  of 
war  —  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  do  not  know  exactly  where  they  are, 
but  presume  they  are  actively  engaged.  It  is  impossible  for  me, 
in  the  condition  of  things,  to  furnish  you  a  gunboat,  the  credit  of 
the  Government  is  at  a  very  low  ebb,  greenbacks  are  not  worth 
more  than  forty  or  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  in  this  condition 
of  things,  if  I  was  worth  half  as  much  as  you  gentlemen  are  repre- 
sented to  be,  and  as  badly  frightened  as  you  seem  to  be,  I  would 
build  a  gunboat  and  give  it  to  the  Government." 


REMINISCENCES   OF  LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER.       255 

Judge  Davis  said  he  never  saw  one  hundred  millions 
sink  to  such  insignificant  proportions  as  it  did  when 
that  delegation  left  the  White  House,  sadder  but  wiser 
men.  They  had  learned  that  money  as  well  as  muscle 
was  a  factor  of  war. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


INCIDENTS   KECALLED   IN   WASHINGTON. 

RECOLLECTIONS    OF   EX-SECRETARY  McCULLOCH  AND 
MRS.   McCULLOCH  AND  JUDGE  SHELLABARGER. 

BY  JANET  JENNINGS. 

Ex-Secretary  McCulloch,  now  eighty-six  years  old, 
but  still  in  good  health,  delights  in  reminiscences  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  Mr.  McCulloch  was  president  of  the 
Bank  of  Indiana,  with  his  home  at  Indianapolis,  when 
called  to  Washington  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to  organize  the 
Bureau  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency.  It  was 
a  work  of  great  responsibility,  incessant  labor,  untiring 
zeal,  watchfulness  and  patriotic  devotion  to  the  Govern- 
ment. History  records  how  ably  and  loyally  Mr.  McCul- 
loch served  at  the  head  of  this  Bureau  for  two  years, 
when  with  his  second  administration  President  Lincoln 
appointed  him  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  It  was  at  the 
darkest  hour  of  the  War,  just  before  the  light  of  victory 
which  brought  peace  to  the  country.  He  was  very  loth 
to  accept  the  position  even  after  his  name  had  gone  to  the 
Senate.  Speaking  of  it  the  other  day,  and  of  the  tre- 
mendous strain  he  was  under  while  organizing  and 
carrying  on  the  affairs  of  the  Currency  Bureau,  the  Ex- 
Secretary  said :  "  But  I  could  not  help  myself.  Mr. 
Lincoln  sent  for  irie,  and  when  I  went  into  his  room, 
he  looked  at  me  with  his  sad,  weary  eyes,  and  throw- 

256 


INCIDENTS  RECALLED  IN   WASHINGTON.         257 

ing  his  arm    over  my   shoulder   said:  'You   must;    the 
country  needs  yon.'" 

Many  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  stories  are  parables.  But  he 
was  not  more  ready  with  their  appropriate  application, 
than  he  was  with  quotations  from  the  Bible,  for  the 
same  purpose,  as  the  following  related  by  the  Ex-Sec- 
retary will  show: 

"  It  was  in  the  darkest  days,  when  the  credit  of  the  Government 
was  at  low  ebb,  and  we  were  trying  to  dispose  of  the  ten-forty 
bonds.  Jay  Cooke  had  come  forward  and  taken  a  large  amount  of 
the  bonds  —  the  only  banker,  apparently,  who  at  the  moment  had 
the  patriotism  and  courage  to  do  it.  Cooke,  in  my  opinion,  has 
never  received  the  credit  he  deserved  for  that  act,  at  once  so  noble 
and  brave.  The  bonds  proved  valuable,  and  it  was  soon  a  fact, 
that  it  was  no  risk  to  take  them.  Then  it  was,  that  other  bankers 
felt  reassured,  and  a  delegation  of  bankers,  from  New  York  and 
other  parts  of  the  country,  came  to  Washington,  to  see  the  Pres- 
ident about  the  bonds.  They  first  came  to  me  at  the  Treasury, 
stated  they  were  actuated  by  patriotic  motives  to  save  the  credit 
of  the  Government,  and  desired  an  interview  with  Mr.  Lincoln. 
My  nephew,  Albin  Man,  now  a  lawyer  in  New  York,  was  in  my 
office,  where  he  had  come  broken  in  health  by  duty  at  the  front. 
I  sent  him  over  to  the  White  House  to  ask  the  President  for  the 
interview  —  and,  by  the  way,  my  nephew  was  here  a  few  days  ago, 
and  recalled  the  incident.  The  President  said  he  would  see  the 
gentlemen,  and  shortly  after  we  went  over,  and  were  shown  into 
Mr.  Lincoln's  room.  He  looked  very  tired  and  worn — sat  with 
his  feet  stretched  out,  resting  them  on  the  table  he  used  for  his 
desk.  He  arose  at  once,  stepped  forward,  and  I  presented  the 
bankers,  Mr.  Lincoln  shaking  hands  with  each  as  1  introduced 
them  by  name.     Then  I  said,  by  way  of  explaining  their  business  : 

"'Mr.  President,  these  gentlemen  have  come  to  Washington 
from  patriotic  motives  —  to  help  us  save  the  credit  of  the  Govern- 
ment. They  want  to  buy  our  bonds  ;  they  will  put  money  in  the 
treasury;  and,  Mr.  President,  you  know  "where  the  treasure  is, 
there  will  the  heart  be  also."  ' 

"  I  am  a  big  man,  but  Mr.  Lincoln  drew  himself  up,  standing 


258  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

head  and  shoulders  above  all,  and,  with  a  peculiar  smile  on  his 
face,  replied: 

"'Yes,  Mr.  Secretary;  but  there  is  another  passage  of  Holy 
Writ  which  you  may  remember —  "  Where  the  carcass  is,  there 
will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together."  '  " 

Mrs.  McCulloch,  who  at  that  time  largely  shared  in 
her  husband's  anxieties  and  cares,  spoke  of  two  little 
incidents  illustrating  Mr.  Lincoln's  nature,  so  quick  to 
forgive  and  condone.     She  said: 

"I  went  to  the  White  House,  one  Saturday  afternoon,  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln's  reception,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Wm.  P.  Dole,  whose 
husband  was  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs.  There  were  crowds 
in  and  out  of  the  White  House,  and  during  the  reception  Mr.  Lin- 
coln slipped  quietly  into  the  room,  and  stood  back  alone,  looking 
on  as  the  people  passed  through.  I  suggested  to  Mrs.  Dole  that 
we  should  go  over  and  speak  to  the  President,  which  we  did.  Mr. 
Lincoln  said,  laughingly :  '  I  am  always  glad  to  see  you,  ladies, 
for  I  know  you  don't  want  anything.' 

"  I  replied  :  '  But,  Mr.  President,  I  do  want  something ;  I  want 
you  to  do  something  very  much.' 

"  '  Well,  what  is  it  ? '  he  asked,  adding,  '  I  hope  it  isn't  anything 
I  can't  do.' 

"  'I  want  you  to  suppress  the  Chicago  Times,  because  it  does 
nothing  but  abuse  the  administration,'  I  replied. 

11 '  Oh,  tut,  tut !  We  must  not  abridge  the  liberties  of  the  press 
or  the  people.  But  never  mind  the  Chicago  Times.  The  admin- 
istration can  stand  it  if  the  Times  can.' 

"  I  went  over  to  the  White  House  one  evening.  It  was  the  last 
time  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  in  public.  The  news  of  the  surrender  had 
come  ;  the  city  was  excited,  bonfires  burning  everywhere,  and 
before  the  White  House  a  crowd  so  dense  that  I  and  the  friends 
with  me  went  around  to  the  basement  door  and  were  let  in  there, 
then  made  our  way  upstairs  to  the  window  where  the  President 
stood  speaking  to  the  people  outside  packed  about  the  portico. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  written  out  some  remarks  on  about  half  a  dozen 
pages.     Tad  sat  at  a  little  table  by  the  window;  and  when  his 


INCIDENTS  RECALLED  IN   WASHINGTON.         2o9 

father  finished  the  sheets  he  took  them  and  placed  them  carefully 
on  the  table,  one  by  one,  until  Mr.  Lincoln  had  ended.  I  remem- 
ber well  that  all  through  Mr.  Lincoln's  speech  there  was  uppermost 
kindly  feeling  for  the  South  and  dissuasion  for  the  excited  crowd 
outside  from  all  bitterness  and  hard  feeling.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  fol- 
lowed by  Mr.  Harlan,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  who,  however, 
did  not  follow  Mr.  Lincoln's  line  of  thought  and  words ;  and  when 
Mr.  Harlan  said,  '  What  shall  we  do  with  the  rebels  ?  what  shall 
we  do  with  them  ?  '  the  hoarse  voices  outside  shouted  up  :  '  Hang 
them  ! '  Tad  Lincoln  looked  at  his  father  and  said,  quickly :  « No, 
papa  ;  not  hang  them,  but  hang  on  to  them.' 

"Mr.  Lincoln  replied:  'Tad  has  got  it.     We  must  hang  on  to 
them. ' 

"  The  following  night  Mr.  Lincoln  was  assassinated.  My  hus- 
band had  gone  early  in  the  evening  to  ask  about  Secretary  Seward, 
who  had  been  injured  by  a  carriage  accident  a  few  days  before  ; 
then  on  his  return  from  Mr.  Seward's  he  had  retired  early,  being 
very  tired.  About  twelve  o'clock  we  were  roused  by  the  news  of 
the  assassination.  My  husband  started  at  once  for  Ford's  Theatre, 
walking  down  alone,  though  I  begged  him  to  take  a  man  with  him. 
But  he  would  not,  and  went  off  alone  to  the  house  on  Tenth  Street 
where  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  taken  ;  and  there,  with  the  other 
members  of  the  Cabinet,  he  remained  till  morning." 

Judge  Shellabarger,  of  Ohio,  whose  Congressional  ser- 
vice covered  President  Lincoln's  years  in  the  White 
House,  speaks  of  a  visit  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  giving  this 
incident:  . 

"  I,  like  many  other  members  of  Congress,  did  not  see  Mr. 
Lincoln  often,  because  we  felt  that  he  was  overwhelmed  with  the 
burdens  of  the  hour,  and  people  giving  him  no  rest.  But  a  young 
man  in  the  army,  Ben  Tappan,  wanted  a  transfer  from  the  volun- 
teer service  to  the  regular  service,  retaining  his  rank  of  lieutenant, 
and  with  staff  duty.  There  was  some  regulation  against  such 
transfer;  but  Tappan's  stepfather,  Frank  Wright,  of  Ohio,  thought 
it  could  be  done.  He  had  been  to  Secretary  Stanton,  who  was 
an  uncle  of  young  Tappan  by  marriage,  and,  on  account  of  this 


260  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

so-called  relationship  the  Secretary  declined  to  act  in  the  matter. 

Wright  and  I  therefore  went  up  to  the  White  House  to  see  the 

President  about  it.    After  talking  it  over  Mr.  Lincoln  told  a  story, 

the  application  of  which  was  that  the  army  was  getting  to  be  all 

staff  and  no  army,  there  was  such  a  rush  for  staff  duty  by  young 

officers.     However,    he   looked  over  Lieutenant  Tappan's  paper, 

heard  what  Secretary  Stanton  had  told  us  about  his  delicacy  in 

transferring  Lieutenant  Tappan  against  the  regulation  because  of 

the  relationship  by  marriage.     Then  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  across  the 

application  something  like  the  following  endorsement : 

"  '  Lieutenant   Tappan,  of  Regiment,   Volunteers,  desires 

transfer  to  Regiment,  Regular  service,  and  assigned  to  staff 

duty  with  present  rank.     If  the  only  objection  to  this  transfer  is 

Lieutenant  Tappan's  relationship  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  that 

objection  is  overruled.  » 

"  '  A.  Lincoln.' 

"  This,  of  course,  threw  the  responsibility  of  breaking  the  regu- 
lation on  Secretary  Stanton.  We  never  heard  anything  more 
about  the  transfer." 

Washington,  D.  C. 


MR.   LINCOLN   IN  NEW   YORK. 

HIS   ADDRESSES   IN  NEW  ENGLAND  —  "  RIGHT  MAKES 

MIGHT." 

COMPILED  FROM  CORRESPONDENCE. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  speeches  in  New  York  and  in  New 
England  introduced  him  so  favorably  to  the  East  that  its 
delegations  in  the  nominating  conventions  were  not  sur- 
prised that  he  should  be  a  favorite  candidate  for  the 
Presidency,  nor  were  they  unfavorably  inclined  to  him. 
How  he  happened  to  be  invited  to  speak  in  New  York  is 
told  on  pages  27  and  28  by  Mr.  Henry  C.  Bowen. 

Until  Mr.  Lincoln  reached  New  York  he  was  under  the 
impression  that  he  was  to  speak  in  Brooklyn;  and  when 
on  the  evening  of  February  27th,  1860,  he  stood  before 
his  audience  in  Cooper  Institute,  he  saw  before  him  a 
crowded  assemblage  of  listeners,  among  whom  were  many 
from  whom,  in  his  modest  judgment  of  himself,  he  would 
have  been  inclined  rather  to  ask  advice  than  to  give 
them  instruction.  William  Cullen  Bryant  presided  and 
David  Dudley  Field  escorted  the  speaker  to  the  platform . 
"Since  the  days  of  Clay  and  Webster,"  said  the  Tribune 
the  next  morning,  "  no  one  has  spoken  to  a  larger  assem- 
blage of  the  intellect  and  mental  culture  of  our  city." 
For  two  years  his  name  had  been  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent before  the  people,  coming  rapidly  up  in  public 
esteem  to  rank  with  those  of  Seward  and  Douglas ;  and 

261 


262  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

yet  he  was  utterly  unknown  in  person  except  in  the 
West.  The  representative  men  of  New  York  were 
naturally  eager  to  see  and  hear  one  whose  force  and  wit 
had  attracted  so  large  a  share  of  the  public  attention. 
Perhaps  it  was  the  nature  of  his  audience  and  the  larger 
responsibility  which  he  felt  in  speaking  on  such  an  occa- 
sion that  called  out  all  the  strength  and  dignity  of  the 
man,  and  somewhat  restrained  his  rollicking  humor.  It 
is  remarkable  that  there  was  not  a  story  in  his  speech 
from  beginning  to  end.  In  the  first  half  of  it  there  was 
not  a  word  to  call  forth  a  smile ;  it  was  only  in  the  last 
part  of  the  address  that  by  occasional  flashes  he  suggested 
the  possession  of  powers  which  he  could  not  quite  con- 
ceal. His  address  was  a  magnificent  success,  and  he 
instantly  took  rank  with  the  masters  of  the  platform. 
He  took  for  his  text,  a  phrase  just  uttered  by  Senator 
Douglas : 

"  Our  fathers,  when  they  framed  the  Government  under  which 
we  live,  understood  this  question  just  as  well  and  even  better  than 
we  do  now." 

This  question  was,  Slavery  in  the  Territories;  and 
Mr.  Lincoln  immediately  proceeded  to  give  a  historical 
analysis  of  what  the  fathers  who  formed  the  Constitu- 
tion thought  on  this  subject.  There  were  thirty-nine  of 
them,  and  he  gave  evidence  to  prove  that  twenty-one 
had  left  on  record  their  opinion  that  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment had  the  right  to  regulate  or  control  slavery  in  the 
Territories.  They  were  mentioned  one  by  one,  and  it 
was  proved'  that  of  those  who  had  left  no  record  by  their 
votes  on  this  point,  most  were  presumably  of  the  same 
opinion.  It  was  a  very  careful  and  thorough  study, 
worthy  of  an  expert  in  our  early  history.     Yet  he  de- 


MR.   LINCOLN  IN  NEW  YORK.  263 

clared  that  even  if  such  were  not  their  view,  it  should 
not  estop  us  from  doing  what  we  now  see  to  be  wise  and 
right.  He  then  addressed  himself  to  the  South,  showing 
its  inconsistency,  proving  that  where  it  claimed  conserv- 
atism it  was  going  back  on  the  record  of  Washington, 
who  signed  an  act  of  Congress  enforcing  the  prohibition 
of  slavery  in  the  Northwestern  Territories,  and  of  Jeffer- 
son and  the  other  Federal  heroes.  He  ridiculed  the  doc- 
trine of  that  sort  of  popular  sovereignty  which  means 
letting  everybody  carry  slavery  wherever  he  pleases. 
He  denied  that  Republicanism  was  responsible  for  John 
Brown's  raid  and  declared  that  there  were  insurrections 
in  the  South  before  Republicanism  was  thought  of.  He 
exclaimed : 

"But  you  will  not  abide  the  election  of  a  Republican  President ! 
In  that  supposed  event,  you  say,  you  will  destroy  the  Union ;  and 
then,  you  say,  the  great  crime  of  having  destroyed  it  will  be  upon 
us  !  That  is  cool.  A  highwayman  holds  a  pistol  to  my  ear,  and 
mutters  through  his  teeth,  '  Stand  and  deliver,  or  I  shall  kill  you, 
and  then  you  will  be  a  murderer ! '" 

What  the  South  wanted,  he  said,  was  that  the  North 
should  cease  to  call  slavery  wrong  and  call  it  right ;  that 
Senator  Douglas's  new  sedition  law  must  be  enacted  and 
enforced,  suppressing  all  declarations  that  slavery  is 
wrong,  whether  made  in  politics,  in  presses,  in  pulpits 
or  in  private ;  that  fugitive  slaves  must  be  arrested  and 
returned  with  greedy  pleasure;  the  free-State  constitu- 
tions must  be  pulled  down  and  the  whole  atmosphere 
must  be  disinfected  from  all  taint  of  opposition  to 
slavery.  This  he  declared  the  North  would  not  do.  The 
North  did  not  intend  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the 
slave  States;  but  it  would  never  allow  slavery  to  be  ex- 


264  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

tended  to  the  Territories.  The  smiles,  the  laughter,  the 
outbursts  of  applause  which  greeted  the  speaker's  telling 
points  showed  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  arguments  had  met 
ready  acceptance.  The  speech  was  printed  in  full  next 
morning  in  the  daily  papers,  and  he  was  declared  to  be 
one  of  nature's  orators.  He  was  invited,  during  his 
brief  visit  East,  to  speak  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode 
Island.  It  was  substantially  the  same  address,  but  with 
great  variety  of  utterance  and  with  more  freedom  of 
illustration,  that  he  gave  in  Hartford,  New  Haven,  Nor- 
wich and  Providence.  Referring  to  the  way  that  the 
Democrats  were  charging  all  sorts  of  crimes  upon  the 
Republicans,  he  said,  at  Hartford :  "  Let  them  go  on  with 
their  howling.  They  will  succeed  when  by  slandering 
women  you  get  them  to  love  you,  or  by  slandering  men 
you  get  them  to  vote  for  you." 

He  laughed  at  Senator  Mason,  of  Virginia,  who,  on 
account  of  this  " sectional  warfare,"  was  dressing  in 
homespun  in  order  to  avoid  goods  manufactured  in  the 
North.  Said  he:  "To  carry  out  his  idea  he  ought  to  go 
barefoot.  If  that's  the  plan,  they  should  begin  at  the 
foundation,  and  adopt  the  well-known  'Georgia  costume  ' 
of  a  shirt  collar  and  a  pair  of  spurs." 

The  next  night,  March  6th,  he  addressed  the  citizens 
of  New  Haven  at  length  and  with  even  more  vigor  and 
raciness.  He  contrasted  the  two  theories  that  slavery  is 
right  and  that  slavery  is  wrong,  and  defended  Seward's 
use  of  the  expression,  "an  irrepressible  conflict."  He 
denounced  the  utter  indifference  of  those  who  said  they 
did  not  care  whether  slavery  was  going  up  or  down,  that 
it  was  merely  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents ;  that  a  Negro 
is  inferior  to  a  white  man,  just  as  a  crocodile  is  inferior 
to  a  Negro.     Said  he : 


MR.   LINCOLN  IN  NEW  YORK.  .     265 

"  I  am  not  ashamed  to  confess  that  twenty-five  years  ago  I  was 
a  hired  laborer,  mauling  rails,  at  work  on  a  flatboat  —  just  what 
might  happen  to  any  poor  man's  son.  I  want  every  man  to  have 
a  chance,  and  I  believe  a  black  man  is  entitled  to  it,  to  better  his 
condition !  that  he  may  be  a  hired  laborer  this  year,  and  the  next 
work  for  himself,  and  finally  hire  men  to  work  for  him.  Up  here 
in  New  England  you  have  a  soil  that  scarcely  sprouts  black-eyed 
beans,  and  yet  where  will  you  find  wealthy  men  so  wealthy,  and 
poverty  so  rarely  in  extremity  ?  There  is  not  another  such  place 
on  earth!" 

On  February  28th,  Abraham  Lincoln  spoke  to  a  Re- 
publican meeting  in  Railroad  Hall,  Providence,  opening 
the  campaign.  Governor  Hoppin  presided,  and  the  Hon. 
Thomas  A.  Jenckes  acted  as  president  of  the  meeting, 
and  Mr.  John  Eddy  as  secretary.  Mr.  Lincoln  began 
by  alluding  good-naturedly  to  some  remarks  in  the  Press 
and  the  Post,  which  he  had  read  on  his  way  thither  in 
the  cars,  and  after  having  humorously  commented  upon 
the  words  in  the  Press,  he  proposed  to  take  as  the  main 
subject  of  his  speech,  topics  suggested  by  the  quotation 
which  the  Post  made  from  one  of  his  former  speeches. 
His  point  was  that  the  country  cannot  permanently 
endure  half-slave  and  half-free.  He  made  a  striking 
and  permanent  impression  as  of  a  man  possessed  of 
thorough  honesty  and  of  sincere,  earnest  belief  in  all 
that  he  said.  His  address  abounded  in  good  humor,  keen 
satire  and  witty  thrusts  that  cut  like  a  master's  blade. 
But  these  were  only  the  flashes  upon  a  plain,  simple, 
cogent  reasoning  which  made  his  position  impregnable, 
and  carried  his  audience  with  him.  Mr.  John  Eddy  is 
still  living  in  Providence,  and  recalls  the  occasion  vividly. 
Mr.  Lincoln  stopped  at  his  house. 

Mr.  Lincoln  also  spoke  in  Norwich,  Conn.  Col. 
Hugh  H.  Osgood,  of  Norwich,  was    in  New  York  the 


266  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

day  after  Mr.  Lincoln  had  spoken  in  Cooper  Institute, 
and  an  intimate  friend  told  him  of  the  wonderful 
eloquence  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  besought  him  to  get  him 
to  come  to  Norwich,  as  he  was  so  sure  he  would  be  a 
wonderful  success  in  speaking  to  the  people.  Accord- 
ingly, Colonel  Osgood  got  his  friend,  Gen.  Henry  N. 
Birge,  a  nephew  of  Governor  Buckingham,  to  go  to 
Hartford,  where  Lincoln  was  to  speak  that  night  and 
secure  him.  This  he  did,  and  created  the  same  impres- 
sion that  he  had  made  elsewhere.  The  Hon.  Amos  W. 
Prentice  presided,  and  Daniel  P.  Tyler,  of  Brooklyn, 
who  had  made  the  Western  circuit  with  Mr.  Lincoln, 
spoke  at  the  public  meeting,  and  also  Mr.  John  P.  Trum- 
bull, of  Stonington.  After  the  meeting  there  was  quite 
a  reception  at  the  Wauregan  House,  and  these  gentlemen 
sat  together  and  told  stories  with  Mr.  Lincoln  till  late  at 
night."  Mr.  Trumbull  was  a  famous  story-teller,  and 
about  one  o'clock,  after  Mr.  Lincoln  had  gone  to  his 
room,  another  story  had  come  to  Mr.  Trumbull,  and  he 
went  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  door  and  said:  "Mr.  Lincoln,  I 
have  just  thought  of  another  story  I  want  to  tell  you." 
Mr.  Lincoln  said,  "  Come  in."  He  was  sitting  down  half 
undressed,  and  there  they  sat  exchanging  stories  until 
after  three  o'clock.  The  late  Prof.  John  P.  Gulliver, 
in  an  unpublished  letter,  says : 

"I  remember  that,  in  introducing  Mr.  Lincoln  that  evening, 
Mr.  Prentice  said :  '  I  trust  that  after  the  next  Presidential  elec- 
tion we  shall  see  the  orator  of  the  evening  presiding  in  the  Senate 
over  his  old  opponent,  Stephen  Arnold  Douglas,'  when  some  one 
said  :  *  Hurrah  for  Abraham  Lincoln  for  Vice-President ! '  and 
we  all  laughed  and  shouted,  thinking  it  a  capital  joke.  How  little 
we  realized  what  pathos  and  tragedy,  what  suffering  and  glory, 
our  careless  compliments  were  calling  down  upon  the  long,  un- 
gainly, rollicking  man  who  was  laughing  with  us,  and  as  heartily 


MR.   LINCOLN  IN  NEW  YORK.  267 

as  any  of  us.  But  when  he  rose  to  speak,  his  expression  and  atti- 
tude created  an  instant  hush.  His  first  sentence,  'My  fellow- 
citizens,  there  is,  in  fact,  but  one  political  question  before  the 
people  of  this  country,  and  that  is,  Is  slavery  right,  or  is  it 
wrong?"1  impressed  us  as  the  proclamation  of  a  great  captain 
on  the  battle-field,  much  as  the  words  of  Napoleon  may  have 
awed  the  army  of  Egypt  — '  Soldiers !  from  the  summit  of  those 
pyramids  forty  centuries  are  looking  down  upon  you  ! '  " 

His  closing  sentence  rose  to  the  climax  of  moral  sub- 
limity, and  it  seemed  that  an  old  Hebrew  prophet  had 
come  back  to  earth  when,  with  profound  emotion,  he 
rolled  forth  the  majestic  words : 

"  Men  of  America  !  history  through  the  centuries  has  been 
teaching  us  that  might  makes  right.  Let  it  be  our  mission  in  this 
nineteenth  century  to  reverse  the  maxim,  and  to  declare  that  right 
makes  might  1" 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN. 

STORIES  ABOUT  HIM— CHOICE  STORIES  BY  HIM— SOME 
OF  HIS  APT  ILLUSTRATIONS  — HIS  EPIGRAMMATIC 
SAYINGS. 

We  have  gathered  the  following  stories  told  of  Lincoln 
and  by  Lincoln  from  various  sources,  including  Nicolay 
and  Hay's  voluminous  work,*  Carpenter's  "  Six  Months 
in  the  White  House,"  Raymond's,  Thompson's  and  other 
lives  of  Lincoln.  We  have  included  none  which  are  not 
believed  to  be  genuine. 


A  Specimen  of  Ridicule. 

In  the  campaign  of  1848  Mr.  Lincoln  made  a  number 
of  speeches.  Referring  to  the  attempt  to  glorify  General 
Cass  for  his  services  on  the  frontier  in  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  he  thus  humorously  referred  to  his  own 
military  experiences  in  the  Black  Hawk  War : 

"  Did  you  know,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  am  a  military  hero  ? 
In  the  days  of  the  Black  Hawk  War  I  fought,  bled  and 
came  away.  I  was  not  at  Stillman's  defeat,  but  I  was 
about  as  near  it  as  General  Cass  was  to  Hull's  surrender ; 
and,  like  him,  I  saw  the  place  very  soon  afterward.  It 
is  quite  certain  I  did  not  break  my  sword,  for  I  had  none 

*  Abraham  Lincoln :  A  History ;  by  John  G.  Nicolay  and  John  Hay. 
In  ten  volumes.  New  York,  The  Century  Co.,  1890.  The  extracts  are 
quoted  from  it  by  permission  of  the  authors. 

268 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN.  269 

to  break;  but  I  bent  my  musket  pretty  badly  on  one 
occasion.  If  General  Cass  went  in  advance  of  me  pick- 
ing whortleberries,  I  guess  I  surpassed  him  in  charges  on 
the  wild  onions.  If  he  saw  any  live  fighting  Indians,  it 
was  more  than  I  did,  but  I  had  a  good  many  bloody 
struggles  with  the  mosquitoes ;  and  although  I  never 
fainted  from  loss  of  blood,  I  can  truly  say  I  was  often 
very  hungry.  If  ever  I  should  conclude  to  doff  whatever 
our  Democratic  friends  may  suppose  there  is  of  black- 
cockade  Federalism  about  me,  and  thereupon  they  shall 
take  me  up  as  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  I  pro- 
test that  they  shall  not  make  fun  of  me,  as  they  have  of 
General  Cass,  by  attempting  to  write  me  into  a  military 
hero." 


A  Gentle  Official  Reprimand. 

The  President  was  called  upon  to  deliver  a  reprimand 
to  an  officer  who  had  been  tried  by  court-martial  for 
quarrelling.  It  was  probably  the  "gentlest,"  say  his 
biographers,  Nicolay  and  Hay,  ever  recorded  "in  the 
annals  of  penal  discourses."     It  was  as  follows : 

"  The  advice  of  a  father  to  his  son, '  Beware  of  entrance 
to  a  quarrel,  but,  being  in,  bear  it  that  the  opposed  may 
beware  of  thee  ! '  is  good,  but  not  the  best.  Quarrel  not 
at  all.  No  man  resolved  to  make  the  most  of  himself  can 
spare  time  for  personal  contention.  Still  less  can  he 
afford  to  take  all  the  consequences,  including  the  vitiat- 
ing of  his  temper  and  the  loss  of  self-control.  Yield 
larger  things  to  which  you  can  show  no  more  than  equal 
right;  and  yield  lesser  ones  though  clearly  your  own. 
Better  give  your  path  to  a  dog  than  be  bitten  by  him  in 
contesting  for  the  right.  Even  killing  the  dog  would  not 
cure  the  bite." 


270  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Lincoln  as  a  Lawyer. 

As  a  lawyer,  according  to  Messrs.  Nicolay  and  Hay, 
Mr.  Lincoln,  notwithstanding  "  all  his  stories  and  jests, 
his  frank,  companionable  hnmor,  his  gift  of 'easy  acces- 
sibility and  welcome,  was,  even  while  he  travelled  the 
Eighth  Circnit,  a  man  of  grave  and  serious  temper,  and 
of  an  unusual  innate  dignity  and  reserve.  He  had  few 
or  no  special  intimates,  and  there  was  a  line  beyond 
which  no  one  ever  thought  of  passing."  They  thus 
describe  him  in  the  courtroom : 

"  He  seemed  absolutely  at  home  in  the  court  room ;  his 
great  stature  did  not  encumber  him  there ;  it  seemed  like 
a  natural  symbol  of  superiority.  His  bearing  and  gestic- 
ulation had  no  awkwardness  about  them ;  they  were  sim- 
ply striking  and  original.  He  assumed  at  the  start  a 
frank  and  friendly  relation  with  the  jury  which  was 
extremely  effective.  He  usually  began,  as  the  phrase 
ran,  by  '  giving  away  his  case ' ;  by  allowing  to  the  oppo- 
site side  every  possible  advantage  that  they  could  hon- 
estly and  justly  claim.  Then  he  would  present  his  own 
side  of  the  case,  with  a  clearness,  a  candor,  an  adroitness 
of  statement  which  at  once  flattered  and  convinced  the 
jury,  and  made  even  the  bystanders  his  partisans.  Some- 
times he  disturbed  the  court  with  laughter  by  his  hu- 
morous or  apt  illustrations;  sometimes  he  excited  the 
audience  by  that  florid  and  exuberant  rhetoric  which  he 
knew  well  enough  how  and  when  to  indulge  in ;  but  his 
more  usual  and  more  successful  manner  was  to  rely  upon 
a  clear,  strong,  lucid  statement,  keeping  details  in  proper 
subordination  and  bringing  forward,  in  a  way  which 
fastened  the  attention  of  court  and  jury  alike,  the  essen- 
tial point  on  which  he  claimed  a  decision.     '  Indeed,'  says 


ANECDOTES   OF  LINCOLN.  271 

one  of  his  colleagues,  *  his  statement  often  rendered  argu- 
ment unnecessary,  and  often  the  court  would  stop  him 
and  say:  "If  that  is  the  case,  we  will  hear  the  other 
side." ' " 

Judge  David  Davis  said  of  him : 

"  The  framework  of  his  mental  and  moral  being  was 
honesty,  and  a  wrong  cause  was  poorly  defended  by  him." 


Advice  to  a  Client. 

To  a  man  who  once  offered  him  a  case,  the  merits  of 
which  he  did  not  appreciate,  he  made,  according  to  his 
partner,  Mr.  Herndon,  the  following  response : 

"  Yes,  there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  but  that  I  can  gain 
your  case  for  you.  I  can  set  a  whole  neighborhood  at 
loggerheads ;  I  can  distress  a  widowed  mother  and  her 
six  fatherless  children,  and  thereby  get  for  you  six  hun- 
dred dollars,  which  rightfully  belongs,  it  appears  to  me, 
as  much  to  them  as  it  does  to  you.  I  shall  not  take  your 
case,  but  I  will  give  a  little  advice  for  nothing.  You 
seem  a  sprightly,  energetic  man.  I  would  advise  you  to 
try  your  hand  at  making  six  hundred  dollars  in  some 
other  way." 


The  King  who  lost  his  Head. 

Early  in  1865  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward  received 
three  commissioners  from  the  Confederacy,  Messrs. 
Stephens,  Hunter  and  Campbell,  with  reference  to  peace 
negotiations.  They  wanted  Mr.  Lincoln  to  recognize  the 
President  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  as  the  head  of  a 
government.     This  Mr.  Lincoln  refused  to  do.     Mr.  Hun- 


272  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ter  urged  this  very  strongly,  declaring  that  the  recogni- 
tion of  Mr.  Davis's  power  to  make  a  treaty  was  the  first 
and  indispensable  step  to  peace,  and  referred  to  the  cor- 
respondence between  King  Charles  I  and  his  Parliament 
as  a  trustworthy  precedent  for  a  constitutional  ruler  deal- 
ing with  rebels.  When  Mr.  Hunter  made  this  point  Mr. 
Lincoln's  face  is  said  to  have  assumed  the  peculiar  look 
which  always  preceded  a  hard  hit,  and  he  responded : 

"  Upon  questions  of  history  I  must  refer  you  to  Mr. 
Seward,  for  he  is  posted  in  such  things  and  I  do  not 
profess  to  be ;  but  my  only  distinct  recollection  of  the 
matter  is  that  Charles  lost  his  head." 


An  Apt  Illustration. 

Shortly  after  he  was  inaugurated,  when  office  seekers 
were  besieging  him  and  important  news  of  the  outbreak 
in  the  South  was  coming  to  him  hourly,  he  said : 

"lam  like  a  man  so  busy  in  letting  rooms  in  one  end 
of  his  house,  that  he  cannot  stop  to  put  out  the  fire  that 
is  burning  the  other." 


The  Uses  of  a  Chin-fly. 

When  a  friend  brought  to  his  attention  the  fact  that  a 
member  of  his  Cabinet  was  seeking  for  the  nomination 
while  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  candidate  for  renomination,  the 
President  accepted  the  announcement  with  the  utmost 
good  humor,  and  said : 

"  My  brother  and  I  were  once  ploughing  corn  on  a  Ken- 
tucky farm,  I  driving  the  horse  and  he  holding  plough. 
The  horse  was  lazy,  but  on  one  occasion  rushed  across 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN.  273 

the  field  so  that  I,  with  my  long  legs,  could  hardly  keep 
pace  with  him.  On  reaching  the  end  of  the  furrow,  I 
found  an  enormous  chin-fly  fastened  upon  him,  and 
knocked  him  off.  My  brother  asked  me  what  I  did  that 
for.  I  told  him  I  didn't  want  the  old  horse  bitten  in  that 
way.     '  Why,'  said  my  brother,  i  that's  all  that  made  him 

go.'     If  Mr. has  a  Presidential  chin-fly  biting  him, 

I'm  not  going  to  knock  him  off,  if  it  will  only  make  his 
department  go." 


A  Negro's  Idea  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 

Everybody  knows  that  the  colored  people  regarded  Mr. 
Lincoln  almost  as  a  superhuman  being.  Colonel  McKaye 
tells  of  a  meeting  of  colored  people  in  North  Carolina  who 
had  heard  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  who  tried  to  give  utterance 
to  their  impressions  as  to  what  kind  of  a  being  he  was. 
In  the  midst  of  their  discussion  a  white-headed  leader 
arose  and  said : 

"  Brederin,  you  don't  know  nosen'  what  you'se  talkin' 
'bout.  Now,  you  just  listen  to  me.  Massa  Linkum,  he 
eberywhar.  He  know  eberyting.  He  walk  de  earf  like 
de  Lord ! " 


His  Kindness  of  Heart  to  the  Distressed. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  kindness  of  heart  was  known  to  every- 
body. Vice-President  Colfax  says  that  his  doorkeepers 
had  "  standing  orders  from  him  that,  no  matter  how  great 
might  be  the  public  throng,  if  either  Senators  or  Repre- 
sentatives had  to  wait  or  to  be  turned  away  without  audi- 
ence, he  must  see  before  the  day  closed  every  messenger 
who  came  to  him  with  a  petition  for  the  saving  of  life." 


274  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Accounts  of  many  such  cases  are  given.  A  woman  carry- 
ing a  baby  waited  three  days  at  the  White  House  to  see 
Mr.  Lincoln.  Her  husband,  who  had  sent  a  substitute, 
had  enlisted  subsequently  himself  when  intoxicated,  and 
had  deserted  from  the  army,  and  had  been  caught  and  sen- 
tenced to  be  shot.  On  his  way  through  the  anteroom  Mr. 
Lincoln  heard  the  baby  cry.  "  He  instantly  went  back  to 
his  office  and  rang  the  bell.  '  Daniel,'  said  he, i  is  there  a 
woman  with  a  baby  in  the  anteroom  ? '  I  said  there  was, 
and,  if  he  would  allow  me  to  say  it,  I  thought  it  was  a  case 
he  ought  to  see ;  for  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death. 
Said  he :  '  Send  her  to  me  at  once.'  She  went  in,  told 
her  story,  and  the  President  pardoned  her  husband.  As 
the  woman  came  out  from  his  presence  her  eyes  were 
lifted  and  her  lips  moving  in  prayer,  the  tears  streaming 
down  her  cheeks."  Said  Daniel :  "  I  went  up  to  her  and, 
pulling  her  shawl,  said:  ' Madam,  it  was  the  baby  that 
did  it ! '" 


Hearing  a  Mother's  Plea. 

The  following  incident  is  said  to  have  occurred  the  same 
week: 

"  One  day  the  Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens  called  with  an 
elderly  lady  in  great  trouble,  whose  son  had  been  in  the 
army,  but  for  some  offence  had  been  court-martialed,  and 
sentenced  either  to  death  or  imprisonment  at  hard  labor 
for  a  long  term,  I  do  not  recollect  which.  There  were 
some  extenuating  circumstances,  and  after  a  full  hearing 
the  President  turned  to  the  Representative  and  said: 
'Mr.  Stevens,  do  you  think  this  is  a  case  which  will 
warrant  my  interference  ?  '  '  With  my  knowledge  of  the 
facts  and  the  parties,'  was  the  reply,  (  I  should  have  no 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN.  275 

hesitation  in  granting  a  pardon.'  'Then/  returned  Mr. 
Lincoln,  '  I  will  pardon  him ' ;  and  he  proceeded  forth- 
with to  execute  the  paper.  The  gratitude  of  the  mother 
was  too  deep  for  expression,  save  by  her  tears,  and  not  a 
word  was  said  between  her  and  Mr.  Stevens  until  they 
were  halfway  down  the  stairs  on  their  passage  out,  when 
she  suddenly  broke  forth,  in  an  excited  manner,  with  the 
words :  '  I  knew  it  was  a  Copperhead  lie  ! '  '  What  do  you 
refer  to,  madam  ? '  asked  Mr.  Stevens.  '  Why,  they  told 
me  he  was  an  ugly-looking  man/  she  replied,  with  vehe- 
mence. '  He  is  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw  in  my 
life/  " 


A  Midnight  Pardon. 

A  Congressman  who  heard  that  a  friend  of  his  in  the 
army  had  been  court-martialed  and  sentenced  to  be  shot, 
failing  to  move  Secretary  Stanton  to  grant  a  pardon, 
rushed  to  the  White  House  late  at  night,  after  the  Presi- 
dent had  retired,  and  forced  his  way  to  the  President's 
bedroom,  and  earnestly  besought  his  interference,  ex- 
claiming, earnestly,  "This  man  must  not  be  shot,  Mr, 
Lincoln.  I  cannot  allow  him  to  be  shot ! "  "  Well,"  said 
the  President  in  reply,  "  I  do  not  believe  shooting  will  do 
him  any  good.  Give  me  that  pen."  And  so  the  pardon 
was  granted. 


His  Own  Defence  of  his  Clemency. 

Speaking  of  the  large  number  of  cases  he  had  dealt 
with  in  this  way,  Mr.  Lincoln  on  one  occasion  said : 

"  Some  of  our  generals  complain  that  I  impair  disci- 
pline and  subordination  in  the  army  by  my  pardons  and 


276  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

respites;  but  it  makes  me  rested,  after  a  hard  day's 
work,  if  I  can  find  some  good  cause  for  saving  a  man's 
life,  and  I  go  to  bed  happy,  as  I  think  how  joyous  the 
signing  of  my  name  will  make  him  and  his  family  and 
his  friends." 

And  with  a  happy  smile  beaming  over  that  care-fur- 
rowed face,  he  signed  that  name  that  saved  that  life. 
His  idea  was  that  "  when  a  man  is  sincerely  penitent  for 
his  misdeeds  and  gives  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  same, 
he  can  safely  be  pardoned ;  and  there  is  no  exception  to 
the  rule." 


The  Long  and  Short  of  It. 

On  the  occasion  of  a  serenade  at  the  White  House  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  who  was  below  the  medium  height, 
were  called  for.  They  appeared  at  the  window  together, 
and  the  President  said :  "  Here  I  am,  and  here  is  Mrs. 
Lincoln.     That's  the  long  and  short  of  it." 


Too  Many  Pegs. 

Referring  once  to  his  difficulty  in  finding  commands  for 
all  those  who  wished  to  be  appointed  generals,  he  said : 
"  The  fact  is  I  have  more  pegs  than  I  have  holes  to  put 
them  in." 


His  Answer  to  Troublesome  Critics. 

To  a  deputation  who  waited  upon  him  to  complain  of 
certain  acts  of  his  administration,  he  made  the  following 
response : 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN.  277 

"  Gentlemen,  suppose  all  the  property  you  were  worth 
was  in  gold,  and  you  had  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Blondin 
to  carry  across  the  Niagara  *River  on  a  rope,  would  you 
shake  the  cable,  or  keep  shouting  out  to  him  :  '  Blondin, 
stand  up  a  little  straighter  —  Blondin,  stoop  a  little  more 
—  go  a  little  faster  —  lean  a  little  more  to  the  north  — 
lean  a  little  more  to  the  south '  ?  No,  you  would  hold 
your  breath  as  well  as  your  tongue,  and  keep  your  hands 
off  until  he  was  safe  over.  The  Government  are  carry- 
ing an  immense  weight.  Untold  treasures  are  in  their 
hands.  They  are  doing  the  very  best  they  can.  Don't 
badger  them.  Keep  silence,  and  we'll  get  you  safe 
across." 


HOW   HE   EARNED    HIS    FlRST    DOLLAR. 

He  gave  the  following  account  to  Mr.  Seward  of  how 
he  earned  his  first  dollar : 

"  I  was  contemplating  my  new  flatboat,  and  wondering 
whether  I  could  make  it  stronger  or  improve  it  in  any 
particular,  when  two  men  came  down  to  the  shore  in  car- 
riages with  trunks,  and  looking  at  the  different  boats 
singled  out  mine,  and  asked :  '  Who  owns  this  ? '  I 
answered,  somewhat  modestly,  'I  do.'  'Will  you,'  said 
one  of  them, i  take  us  and  our  trunks  out  to  the  steamer  ? ' 
'  Certainly,'  said  I.  I  was  very  glad  to  have  the  chance 
of  earning  something.  I  supposed  that  each  of  them 
would  give  me  two  or  three  bits.  The  trunks  were  put 
on  my  flatboat,  the  passengers  seated  themselves  on  the 
trunks,  and  I  sculled  them  out  to  the  steamboat. 

"  They  got  on  board,  and  I  lifted  up  their  heavy  trunks 
and  put  them  on  deck.  The  steamer  was  about  to  put 
on  steam  again,  when  I  called  out  that  they  had  forgotten 


278  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

to  pay  me.  Each  of  them  took  from  his  pocket  a  silver 
half-dollar  and  threw  it  on  the  floor  of  my  boat.  I  could 
scarcely  believe  my  eyes  as  I  picked  up  the  money.  Gen- 
tlemen, you  may  think  it  was  a  very  little  thing,  and  in 
these  days  it  seems  to  me  a  trifle ;  but  it  was  a  most 
important  incident  in  my  life.  I  could  scarcely  credit 
that  I,  a  poor  boy,  had  earned  a  dollar  in  less  than  a  day 
—that  by  honest  work  I  had  earned  a  dollar.  The  world 
seemed  wider  and  fairer  before  me.  I  was  a  more  hope- 
ful and  confident  being  from  that  time." 


"He  is  intrenching." 

A  short  time  after  the  Democratic  Convention  of  1864, 
Mr.  Charles  A.  Dana  asked  Mr.  Lincoln  why  the  nominee 
of  the  convention,  General  McClellan,  had  not  replied  to 
the  letter  notifying  him  of  his  nomination.  "  Oh,"  said  Mr. 
Lincoln,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "he  is  intrenching." 


Garrison  in  Baltimore. 

An  account  given  in  the  Independent  of  a  visit  of  Wil- 
liam Lloyd  Garrison,  and  others,  to  Baltimore,  to  find  the 
old  jail  where  Garrison  was  imprisoned,  states  that  when 
Mr.  Garrison  subsequently  told  Mr.  Lincoln  of  it,  the 
President  remarked :  "  Well,  Mr.  Garrison,  when  you 
first  went  to  Baltimore  you  could  not  get  out  of  prison, 
but  the  second  time  you  could  not  get  in." 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN.  279 

"Let  him  go." 

To  his  Cabinet  who  asked  him  whether  it  would  be 
right  to  allow  the  archtraitor,  Jacob  Thompson,  to  slip 
out  of  the  country  disguised,  Mr.  Lincoln  replied : 

"Well,  let  me  tell  you  a  story.  There  was  an  Irish 
soldier  here  last  summer,  who  wanted  something  to  drink 
stronger  than  water,  and  stopped  at  a  drug  shop,  where 
he  espied  a  soda  fountain.  'Mr.  Doctor,'  said  he,  'give 
me  plaze,  a  glass  of  soda-wather,  an'  if  you  can  put  in 
a  few  drops  of  whisky  unbeknown  to  any  one  I'll 
be  obleeged.'  Now,"  continued  Mr.  Lincoln,  "if  Jake 
Thompson  is  permitted  to  go  through  Maine  unbeknown 
to  any  one,  what's  the  harm  ? .  So  don't  have  him 
arrested." 


His  Eeply  to  a  Verbal  Criticism. 

In  one  of  his  messages  after  his  first  inauguration  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  this  sentence : 

"With  rebellion  thus  sugar-coated,  they  have  been 
drugging  the  public  mind  of  their  section  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  until  at  length  they  have  brought  many 
good  men  to  a  willingness  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
Government." 

The  public  printer  did  not  like  the  use  of  the  word 
sugar-coated,  and  went  to  the  President  about  it,  and  said 
to  Mr.  Lincoln :  "  You  used  an  undignified  expression 
in  the  message.  I  would  alter  the  structure  of  it  if  I 
were  you." 

"  Defrees,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  that  word  expresses 
precisely  my  idea,  and  I  am  not  going  to  change  it.     The 


280  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

time  will  never  come  in  this  country  when  the  people 
won't  know  exactly  what  sugar-coated  means  ! " 


How  a  Sentence  was  improved. 

On  another  occasion  the  public  printer  called  the 
President's  attention  to  a  sentence  in  one  of  his  mes- 
sages which  he  thought  awkwardly  constructed.  The 
President  acknowledged  the  point  of  the  criticism,  and 
said :  "  Go  home,  Defrees,  and  see  if  you  can  better  it." 
The  next  day  Mr.  Defrees  took  in  to  him  his  amendment. 
Mr.  Lincoln  met  him  by  saying  :  "  Seward  found  the  same 
fault  that  you  did,  and  he  has  been  rewriting  the  para- 
graph also."  Then,  reading  Mr.  Def rees's  version,  he  said : 
"  I  believe  you  have  beat  Seward ;  but, '  I  jings ' "  (a  com- 
mon expression  with  him),  "  I  think  I  can  beat  you  both." 
Then,  taking  up  his  pen,  he  wrote  the  sentence  as  it  was 
finally  printed. 


Mr.  Lincoln's  Vow. 

Just  before  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  issued, 
immediately  after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  President  Lin- 
coln said  to  his  Cabinet  that  "  the  time  for  the  enuncia- 
tion of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  can  no  longer  be 
delayed.  Public  sentiment  will  sustain  it,  and  I  have 
promised  my  God  that  I  will  do  it."  Secretary  Chase, 
who  heard  the  last  words,  which  were  uttered  in  a  low 
tone,  asked  the  President  if  he  correctly  understood  him. 
Mr.  Lincoln  replied :  "  I  made  a  solemn  vow  before  God 
that  if  General  Lee  were  driven  back  from  Maryland  I 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN.  281 

would  crown  the  result  by  declaration  of  freedom  to  the 
slaves." 


Anticipations  of  a  Happy   Second  Term. 

The  Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  who  was  on  the  ticket  with 
General  Grant  in  his  second  campaign  as  Vice-President, 
says  that  on  the  day  before  his  death  the  President  said 
to  his  wife : 

"  We  have  had  a  hard  time  together  since  we  came  to 
Washington :  but  now  the  War  is  over,  and,  with  God's 
blessing  upon  us,  we  may  hope  for  four  years  of  happi- 
ness, and  then  we  will  go  back  to  Illinois  and  pass  the 
remainder  of  our  lives  in  peace." 


His  Possessions   in  1860. 

It  is  related  that  on  his  visit  to  New  York  to  deliver 
the  famous  Cooper  Institute  speech,  the  following  inci- 
dent occurred: 

He  met  an  Illinois  acquaintance  of  former  years,  to 
whom  he  said,  in  his  dry,  good-natured  way :  "  Well,  B., 
how  have  you  fared  since  you  left  Illinois?"  to  which 
B.  replied:  "I  have  made  $  100,000  and  lost  it  all ;  how 
is  it  with  you,  Mr.  Lincoln?"  "Oh,  very  well,"  said 
Mr.  Lincoln ;  "  I  have  the  cottage  at  Springfield  and  about 
$3000  in  money.  If  they  make  me  Vice-President  with 
Seward,  as  some  say  they  will,  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to 
increase  it  to  $ 20,000,  and  that  is  as  much  as  any  man 
ought  to  want." 


282  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

How  he  got  a  Knife. 

Mr.  Lincoln  enjoyed  jokes  at  the  expense  of  his  per- 
sonal appearance,  and  used  himself  to  tell  this  incident : 

"  In  the  days  when  I  used  to  be  '  on  the  circuit/  I  was 
once  accosted  in  the  cars  by  a  stranger,  who  said, '  Excuse 
me,  sir,  but  I  have  an  article  in  my  possession  which 
belongs  to  you.'  '  How  is  that  ? '  I  asked,  considerably 
astonished.  The  stranger  took  a  jack-knife  from  his 
pocket.  '  This  knife,'  said  he,  '  was  placed  in  my  hands 
some  years  ago,  with  the  injunction  that  I  was  to  keep  it 
until  I  found  a  man  uglier  than  myself.  I  have  carried 
it  from  that  time  to  this.  Allow  me  now  to  say,  sir,  that 
I  think  you  are  fairly  entitled  to  the  property.' 


?  ?j 


An  Illustration  from  the  Poultry  Yard. 

To  a  deputation  who  urged  that  his  Cabinet  should  be 
reconstructed  after  the  retirement  of  Secretary  Cameron, 
the  President  told  this  story: 

"  Gentlemen,  when  I  was  a  young  man,  I  used  to  know 
very  well  one  Joe  Wilson,  who  built  himself  a  log-cabin 
not  far  from  where  I  lived.  Joe  was  very  fond  of  eggs 
and  chickens,  and  he  took  a  good  deal  of  pains  in  fitting 
up  a  poultry  shed.  Having  at  length  got  together  a 
choice  lot  of  young  fowls  —  of  which  he  was  very  proud 
—  he  began  to  be  much  annoyed  by  the  depredations  of 
those  little  black  and  white  .  spotted  animals,  which  it 
is  not  necessary  to  name.  One  night  Joe  was  awakened 
by  an  unusual  cackling  and  fluttering  among  his  chickens. 
Getting  up,  he  crept  out  to  see  what  was  going  on.  It 
was  a  bright  moonlight  night,  and  he  soon  caught  sight  of 


ANECDOTES   OF  LINCOLN.  283 

half  a  dozen  of  the  little  pests,  which  with  their  dam  were 
running  in  and  out  of  the  shadow  of  the  shed.  Very 
wrathy,  Joe  put  a  double  charge  into  his  old  musket, 
and  thought  he  would  ' clean'  out  the  whole  tribe  at 
one  shot.  Somehow  he  only  killed  one,  and  the  balance 
scampered  off  across  the  field.  In  telling  the  story,  Joe 
would  always  pause  here,  and  hold  his  nose.  'Why 
didn't  you  follow  them  up  and  kill  the  rest?'  inquired 
his  neighbors.  '  Blast  it,'  said  Joe,  '  why,  it  was  eleven 
weeks  before  I  got  over  killin'  one.  If  you  want  any 
more  skirmishing  in  that  line  you  can  just  do  it  your- 
selves ! ' " 


A  Non-committal   Opinion. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  good  nature  was  such  that,  even  in  the 
busy  war  times  he  received  almost  everybody  who  had  a 
grievance,  and  would  even  give  precious  time  to  those 
who  had  no  particular  claim  upon  his  attention.  On  one 
occasion  Eobert  Dale  Owen  called  upon  him  to  read  him 
a  long  manuscript  on  one  of  the  abstruse  subjects  with 
which  that  rather  erratic  thinker  loved  to  deal.  Mr. 
Lincoln  heard  him  patiently  all  through,  and  when  the' 
author  looked  up  to  him  for  his  opinion,  responded : 
"Well,  for  those  who  like  that  sort  of  thing  I  should 
think  that  is  just  the  sort  of  thing  they  would  like." 


A  Witty   Reply. 

On  one  occasion  it  is  said  that  some  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
friends  were  talking  about  him  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 
The  conversation  led  to  the  physical  proportions  of  the 


284  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

respective  men,  and  an  argument  arose  as  to  the  proper 
length  of  a  man's  leg.  During  the  discussion  on  the 
subject  Mr.  Lincoln  came  in  and  quietly  settled  himself, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  the  question  should  be  referred 
to  him  for  settlement.  They  told  him  what  they  had 
been  talking  about  and  asked  him  what,  in  his  opinion, 
was  the  proper  length  of  a  man's  legs.  "  Well,"  said  he 
reflectively,  "  I  should  think  that  they  ought  to  be  long 
enough  to  reach  from  his  body  to  the  ground." 


A  Characteristic  Letter. 

"  Executive  Mansion,  October  17th,  1861. 
"Major  Kamsey: 

"  My  dear  Sir :  —  The  lady  —  bearer  of  this  —  says  she 
has  two  sons  who  want  to  work.  Set  them  at  it,  if  pos- 
sible. Wanting  to  work  is  so  rare  a  merit  that  it  should 
be  encouraged.  A.  Lincoln." 


His   Speech  to  a   Sunday-school 

On  his  first  visit  to  New  York  he  called  at  the  Five 
Points  House  of  Industry,  and  the  following  account  of 
what  occurred  is  given  by  a  teacher  there : 

"  Our  Sunday-school  in  the  Five  Points  was  assembled, 
one  Sabbath  morning,  when  I  noticed  a  tall,  remarkable- 
looking  man  enter  the  room  and  take  a  seat  among  us. 
He  listened  with  fixed  attention  to  our  exercises,  and  his 
countenance  expressed  such  genuine  interest  that  I  ap- 
proached him  and  suggested  that  he  might  be  willing  to 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN.  285 

say  something  to  the  children.  He  accepted  the  invita- 
tion with  evident  pleasure ;  and,  coming  forward,  began 
a  simple  address,  which  at  once  fascinated  every  little 
hearer  and  hushed  the  room  into  silence.  His  language 
was  strikingly  beautiful,  and  his  tones  musical  with  in- 
tensest  feeling.  The  little  faces  around  him  would  droop 
into  sad  conviction  as  he  uttered  sentences  of  warning, 
and  would  brighten  into  sunshine  as  he  spoke  cheerful 
words  of  promise.  Once  or  twice  he  attempted  to  close 
his  remarks,  but  the  imperative  shout  of  '  Go  on ! '  '  Oh, 
do  go  on ! '  would  compel  him  to  resume.  As  I  looked 
upon  the  gaunt  and  sinewy  frame  of  the  stranger  and 
marked  his  powerful  head  and  determined  features,  now 
touched  into  softness  by  the  impressions  of  the  moment, 
I  felt  an  irresistible  curiosity  to  learn  something  more 
about  him,  and  when  he  was  quietly  leaving  the  room  I 
begged  to  know  his  name.  He  courteously  replied :  '  It 
is  Abraham  Lincoln,  from  Illinois.'  " 


Once,  only,  a  Seeker  for  Office. 

In  1849  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  applicant  for  office.  He 
wanted  to  be  made  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office ;  but,  according  to  Nicolay  and  Hay,  "  a  suitor  for 
office  so  laggard  and  so  scrupulous  as  he  stood  very  little 
chance  of  success  in  contests  like  those  which  periodi- 
cally raged  in  Washington."  He  failed,  and  thus  "es- 
caped one  of  the  greatest  dangers  of  his  life,"  and 
afterwards  congratulated  himself  on  his  happy  deliver- 
ance. He  was  subsequently  offered  the  Governorship 
of  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  but  declined  it. 


286  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


The  Snake  Illustration. 

In  his  speeches  at  New  Haven  and  Norwich,  Mr. 
Lincoln  used  this  illustration  of  slavery  in  the  States 
and  Territories : 

"  If  I  saw  a  venomous  snake  crawling  in  the  road,  any 
man  would  say  I  might  seize  the  nearest  stick  and  kill 
it;  but  if  I  found  that  snake  in  bed  with  my  children, 
that  would  be  another  question.  I  might  hurt  the  chil- 
dren more  than  the  snake,  and  it  might  bite  them. 
Much  more,  if  I  found  it  in  bed  with  my  neighbor's 
children,  and  I  had  bound  myself  by  a  solemn  compact 
not  to  meddle  with  his  children  under  any  circumstances, 
ifc  would  become  me  to  let  that  particular  mode  of  get- 
ting rid  of  the  gentleman  alone.  But  if  there  was  a 
bed  newly  made  up,  to  which  the  children  were  to  be 
taken,  and  it  was  proposed  to  take  a  batch  of  young 
snakes  and  put  them  there  with  them,  I  take  it  no 
man  would  say  there  was  any  question  how  I  ought 
to  decide.'' 

The  late  Prof.  John  P.  Gulliver,  who  heard  the  speech 
at  Norwich,  said  the  effect  of  the  snake  illustration  on 
the  audience  was  wonderful.  Democrats  applauded  as 
vigorously  as  Republicans.  He  characterized  the  story  as 
at  once  "  queer  and  comical,  tragic  and  argumentative." 


The  New  Hat. 

After  Mr.  Lincoln's  nomination  in  1860,  an  admiring 
hatter  sent  him  a  new  silk  hat.  Mr.  Lincoln  put  it  on 
and  walked  to  the  glass  to  see  if  it  fitted,  and  remarked 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN .  287 

to  his  wife :  "  Well,  wife,  we  are   going  to  have  some 
new  clothes,  anyway." 


Difficult  Bridge  Building. 

"I  once  knew  a  sound  Churchman  by  the  name  of 
Brown,  who  was  a  member  of  a  very  sober  and  pious 
committee,  having  in  charge  the  erection  of  a  bridge  over 
a  dangerous  and  rapid  river.  Several  architects  failed, 
and  at  last  Brown  said  he  had  a  friend  named  Jones, 
who  had  built  several  bridges  and  undoubtedly  could 
build  that  one.  So  Mr.  Jones  was  called  in.  '  Can  you 
build  this  bridge  ?  '  inquired  the  committee.  '  Yes/  re- 
plied Jones, '  or  any  other.  I  could  build  a  bridge  to  the 
infernal  regions,  if  necessary ! '  The  committee  were 
shocked,  and  Brown  felt  called  upon  to  defend  his 
friend.  1 1  know  Jones  so  well,'  said  he,  '  and  he  is  so 
honest  a  man  and  so  good  an  architect,  that  if  he  states 
soberly  and  positively  that  he  can  build  a  bridge  to  — 

to ,  why,  I  believe  it :  but  I  feel  bound  to  say  that 

I  have  my  doubts  about  the  abutment  on  the  infernal 
side/  So,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  when  politicians  told  me 
that  the  Northern  and  Southern  wings  of  Democracy 
could  be  harmonized,  why  I  believed  them  of  course ;  but 
I  always  had  my  doubts  about  the  i  abutment '  on  the 
other  side." 


A  Happy  Illustration. 

In  one  of  his  debates  with  Judge  Douglas  he  claimed 
that  his  opponent  ascribed  some  things  to  him  by  "  mere 
burlesques  on  the  art  and  name  of  argument  —  by  such 


288  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

fantastic  arrangements  of  words  as  prove  horse-chestnuts 
to  be  chestnut  horses." 


Mr.  Lincoln's  Confession  of  Faith. 

On  one  occasion  he  said  that  the  reason  he  had  never 
joined  the  Church  was  that  he  did  not  like  the  long, 
complicated  statements  of  Christian  doctrines  which 
characterized  the  Confessions  of  the  Churches : 

"When  any  Church  will  inscribe  over  its  altar,  as  its 
sole  qualification  for  membership,  the  Saviour's  condensed 
statement  of  the  substance  of  both  Law  and  Gospel, 
i  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,'  that  Church  will  I  join  with  all 
my  heart  and  all  my  soul." 


As  a  Temperance  Man. 

When  the  committee  of  a  Chicago  convention  waited 
upon  Mr.  Lincoln  to  inform  him  of  his  nomination,  he 
treated  them  to  ice  water,  with  these  remarks: 

"  Gentlemen,  we  must  pledge  our  mutual  healths  in 
the  most  healthy  beverage  which  God  has  given  to  man. 
It  is  the  only  beverage  I  have  ever  used  or  allowed  in 
my  family,  and  I  cannot  conscientiously .  depart  from  it 
on  the  present  occasion.  It  is  pure  Adam's  ale  from 
the  spring." 

He  was  strictly  temperate.  Mr.  John  Hay,  one  of  his 
biographers,  says : 

aMr.   Lincoln   was   a  man   of    extremely    temperate 


ANECDOTES  OF  LINCOLN.  289 

habits.  He  made  no  use  of  either  whisky  or  tobacco 
during  all  the  years  that  I  knew  him." 

Mr.  John  G.  Nicolay,  one  of  his  private  secretaries, 
says: 

"  During  all  the  five  years  of  my  service  as  his  private 
secretary  I  never  saw  him  drink  a  glass  of  whisky,  and 
never  knew  or  heard  of  his  taking  one." 


LINCOLN  EPIGRAMS. 

SENTENCES   WORTH  REMEMBERING. 
We  cannot  escape  history. 

Let  none  falter  who  thinks  he  is  right. 

If  slavery  is  not  wrong,  then  nothing  is  wrong. 

Come  what  will,  I  will  keep  my  faith  with  friend  and 
foe. 

All  that  I  am,  all  that  I  hope  to  be,  I  owe  to  my  angel 
mother. 

There  is  no  grievance  that  is  a  fit  object  of  redress 
by  mob  law. 

This   country,   with  its   institutions,  belongs   to   the 
people  who  inhabit  it. 

I  authorize  no  bargains  for  the  Presidency,  and  will 
be  bound  by  none. 

For  thirty  years  I  have  been  a  temperance  man,  and  I 

am  too  old  to  change. 

290 


LINCOLN  EPIGRAMS.  291 

No  man  is  good  enough  to  govern  another  man  without 
that  other's  consent. 

I  believe  this  Government  cannot  permanently  endure 
half  slave  and  half  free. 

Gold  is  good  in  its  place;  but  living,  brave  and  patri- 
otic men  are  better  than  gold. 

This  Government  must  be  preserved  in  spite  of  the 
acts  of  any  man,  or  set  of  men. 

Nowhere  in  the  world  is  presented  a  Government  of  so 
much  liberty  and  equality. 

Slavery  is  founded  in  the  selfishness  of  man's  nature  — 
opposition  to  it  in  his  love  of  justice. 

If  I  live,  this  accursed  system  of  robbery  and  shame  in 
our  treatment  of  the  Indians  shall  be  reformed. 

In  law  it  is  good  policy  never  to  plead  what  you  need 
not,  lest  you  oblige  yourself  to  prove  what  you  cannot. 

Understanding  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  to  aim  at 
the  elevation  of  men,  I  am  opposed  to  whatever  tends  to 
degrade  them. 

The  reasonable  man  has  long  since  agreed  that  intem- 
perance is  one  of  the  greatest,  if  not  the  greatest,  of  all 
evils  among  mankind. 


292  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  purposes  of  the  Almighty  are  perfect,  and  must 
prevail,  though  we  erring  mortals  may  fail  accurately  to 
perceive  them  in  advance. 

I  protest  against  the  counterfeit  logic  which  concludes, 
because  I  do  not  want  a  black  woman  for  a  slave  I  must 
necessarily  want  her  for  a  wife. 

I  know  that  the  Lord  is  always  on  the  side  of  the 
right;  but  it  is  my  constant  anxiety  and  prayer  that  I 
and  this  nation  should  be  on  the  Lord's  side. 

Many  free  countries  have  lost  their  liberty,  and  ours 
may  lose  hers ;  but,  if  she  shall,  be  it  my  proudest  plume, 
not  that  I  was  the  last  to  desert,  but  that  I  never  deserted 
her. 

By  a  course  of  reasoning,  Euclid  proves  that  all  the 
angles  in  a  triangle  are  equal  to  two  right  angles.  Now, 
if  you  undertake  to  disprove  that  proposition,  would  you 
prove  it  false  by  calling  Euclid  a  liar  ? 

I  am  profitably  engaged  reading  the  Bible.  Take  all  of 
this  book  upon  reason  that  you  can,  and  the  balance  on 
faith,  and  you  will  live  and  die  a  better  man.  —  Said  to 
Joshua  Speed  about  a  year  before  the  President's  assassi- 
nation. 


LINCOLN'S   SECOND    INAUGUEAL   ADDEESS. 

At  this  second  appearing  to  take  the  oath  of  Presiden- 
tial office  there  is  less  occasion  for  an  extended  address 
than  there  was  at  the  first.  Then  a  statement,  somewhat 
in  detail,  of  a  course  to  be  pursued,  seemed  fitting  and 
proper.  Now,  at  the  expiration  of  four  years,  during 
which  public  declarations  have  been  constantly  called 
forth  on  every  point  and  phase  of  the  great  contest  which 
still  absorbs  the  attention  and  engrosses  the  energies  of 
the  nation,  little  that  is  new  could  be  presented.  The 
progress  of  our  arms,  on  which  all  else  chiefly  depends,  is 
as  well  known  to  the  public  as  myself ;  and  it  is,  I  trust, 
reasonably  satisfactory  and  encouraging  to  all.  With 
high  hope  for  the  future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it  is 
ventured. 

On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this  four  years  ago, 
all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to  an  impending 
civil  war.  All  dreaded  it  —  all  sought  to  avert  it. 
While  the  Inaugural  Address  was  being  delivered  from 
this  place,  devoted  altogether  to  saving  the  Union  with- 
out war,  insurgent  agents  were  in  the  city  seeking  to 
destroy  it  without  war  —  seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union 
and  divide  effects  by  negotiation.  Both  parties  depre- 
cated war ;  but  one  of  them  would  make  war  rather  than 
let  the  nation  survive;  and  the  other  would  accept  war 
rather  than  let  it  perish.     And  the  war  came. 

293 


294  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

One  eighth  of  the  whole  population  were  colored  slaves, 
not  distributed  generally  over  the  Union,  but  localized  in 
the  southern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  constituted  a 
peculiar  and  powerful  interest.  All  knew  that  this  in- 
terest was,  somehow,  the  cause  of  the  war.  To  strengthen, 
perpetuate  and  extend  this  interest  was  the  object  for 
which  the  insurgents  would  rend  the  Union,  even  by 
war ;  while  the  Government  claimed  no  right  to  do  more 
than  to  restrict  the  territorial  enlargement  of  it. 

Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magnitude  or 
the  duration  which  it  has  already  attained :  neither  antici- 
pated that  the  cause  of  the  conflict  might  cease  with  or 
even  before  the  conflict  itself  should  cease.  Each  looked 
for  an  easier  triumph,  and  a  result  less  fundamental  and 
astounding.  Both  read  the  same  Bible  and  pray  to  the 
same  God,  and  each  invokes  his  aid  against  the  other. 
It  may  seem  strange  that  any  men  should  dare  to  ask  a 
just  God's  assistance  in  wringing  their  bread  from  the 
sweat  of  other  men's  faces ;  but  let  us  judge  not,  that  we 
be  not  judged.  The  prayers  of  both  could  not  be  answered ; 
that  of  neither  has  been  answered  fully. 

The  Almighty  has  his  own  purposes.  "  Woe  unto  the 
world  because  of  offences !  For  it  must  needs  be  that 
offences  come ;  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offence 
cometh."  If  we  shall  suppose  that  American  slavery  is 
one  of  those  offences  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued  through 
his  appointed  time,  he  now  wills  to  remove,  and  that 
he  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible  war,  as 
the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offence  came,  shall  we 
discern  therein  any  departure  from  those  divine  attributes 
which  the  believers  in  a  living  God  always  ascribe  to  him? 
Fondly  do  we  hope  —  fervently  do  we  pray  —  that  this 


LINCOLN'S  SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.       295 

mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away.  Yet,  if 
God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled  by 
the  bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited 
toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn 
with  a  lash  shall  be  paid  with  another  drawn  by  a  sword, 
as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be 
said,  "  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous 
altogether." 

With  malice  toward  none ;  with  charity  for  all ;  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let 
us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in ;  to  bind  up  the 
nation's  wounds ;  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne 
the  battle,  and  for  his  widow,  and  his  orphan  —  to  do  all 
which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace 
among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations. 


THE   END. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS 

AND 

CORRESPONDENTS. 


Thejollowing  press  notices  and  extracts  from  numerous  letters, 
testifying  to  the  permanent  historical  value  of  these  tributes  to  the 
memory  of  Lincoln,  will  indicate  the  great  interest  which  they 
awakened  all  over  the  country,  and  the  general  desire  for  their  pub- 
lication in  book  form. 

I  have  been  reading  by  instalments  The  Independent  of  April  4th, 
the  Lincoln  Number.  It  is  a  remarkable  number,  almost  a  volume  in 
itself,  and  filled  with  very  interesting  and  often  original  information 
respecting  the  unique  personality  and  able  administration  of  the  great 
War  President.  These  papers  are  worthy  of  being  preserved  in  some 
permanent  form.  —  Pres.  Franklin  W.  Fisk. 
Chicago  Theological  Seminary. 

I  want  to  express  my  admiration  for  the  number  of  The  Indepen- 
dent which  contains  Lincoln  reminiscences  by  so  many  different  peo- 
ple. It  calls  to  my  mind  the  time  he  was  in  Meriden  just  before  the 
April  election  in  1860.  I  remember  very  well  introducing  him  to  a 
Meriden  audience.  —  U.  S.  Senator  O.  H.  Platt. 
Meriden,  Conn. 

The  Lincoln  Number  is  a  magnificent  issue  of  The  Independent. 
I  congratulate  you  upon  it,  and  hope  that  your  years  will  be  many  for 
still  planning  to  equal  what  even  you,  with  all  your  breadth  of  plan 
and  energetic  enterprise,  can  hardly  hope  to  surpass. 

—  Dr.  R.  S.  Storrs. 

Church  of  the  Pilgrims,  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 

I  am  not  willing  to  omit  my  personal  and  hearty  thanks  to  you  and 
your  associates  for  the  pleasure  you  have  conferred  by  "  Abraham  Lin- 
coln—  the  Thirtieth  Anniversary  of  his  Assassination."  It  is  a  news- 
paper group  of  which  the  great  martyr  is  the  commanding  centre  that 
cannot  in  our  day  be  equalled.  —  Pres.  Joseph  F.  Tuttle. 
Wabash  College,  Crawfordsville,  Ind. 

You  could  not  have  done  a  better  thing  for  your  subscribers  than  to 
put  together  such  a  combination  of  rare  incidents  in  Lincoln's  life.  I 
should  think  a  small  book  comprising  these  articles  would  be  a  very 
successful  enterprise  financially,  as  well  as  doing  the  public  a  great 
favor.  — The  Hon.  John  V.  Farwell. 
Chicago,  111. 


So  full  a  description  of  the  every-day  life  of  one  of  the  noblest  men 
that  ever  lived  is  deeply  interesting.  —  The  Hon.  J.  "YV.  Manning. 
Putnam,  Conn. 

I  have  read  in  the  Lincoln  Number,  with  great  interest,  the  very 
remarkable  collection  of  tributes  in  The  Independent.  They  are 
exceedingly  valuable  contributions  to  what  is  becoming  a  very  impor- 
tant cult  with  us,  and  seems  destined  to  occupy  a  separate  place  in 
our  political  and  patriotic  literature  —  the  Lincoln  study. 

—  Chauncey  M.  Depew. 
New  York  City. 

This  symposium  on  Lincoln  has  come  to  me  as  a  great  answer  to  my 
long  felt  want.  I  would  like  to  write  much  of  my  pleasant  emotions, 
both  sentimental  and  instructive,  as  I  read  it ;  but  I  will  not.  I  simply 
want  to  say  that  as  a  young  man,  born  too  late  to  know  anything  of 
the  great  and  noble  man,  I  thank  you  for  this  masterly  and  varied  pres- 
entation of  his  life  and  character.  —  The  Rev.  Geo.  W.  Love. 
Lanesboro,  Mass. 

Every  one  here  is  talking  about  the  Lincoln  Number,  and  all  say, 
"  Put  those  articles  in  book  form."  —  T.  V.  Johnston. 
Pittsburg,  Penn. 

Allow  me  to  say  that,  of  all  the  celebrated  numbers  published,  this 
seems  to  surpass  them  all  in  general  interest.    I  hope  it  may  be  put 
into  book  form. — J.  Q.  Adams. 
Gilford,  N.H. 

I  thank  you  for  the  Lincoln  Number  of  The  Independent.  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  was  the  greatest  American  of  our  time. 

—  Ex-Senator  J.  R.  Doolittle. 
Chicago,  111. 

In  the  presence  of  the  multiplied  histories  of  Napoleon,  now  filling 
our  magazines  and  newspapers,  it  is  refreshing  as  cold  water  to  a 
thirsty  soul  to  read  in  contrast  your  thrilling  group  of  memorials  of 
our  own  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Their  publication  is  a  stimulus  to  both  religion  and  patriotism  — a 
notable  public  benefit.  —  Geo.  L.  White. 
Sage  College,  Ithaca,  N.Y. 

Such  a  contribution  to  the  memory  of  our  greatest  President  deserves 
the  thanks  and  appreciation  of  every  American.  You  have  done  an 
excellent  work  in  presenting  these  sketches  of  the  man. 

—  Chas.  R.  Trowbridge. 
Baltimore,  Md. 

2 


4 
The  reading  of  these  articles  by  men  who  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  deepen 
the  conviction  that  he  was  one  of  the  world's  very  greatest  men. 

—  Morning  Star. 

Its  contents  are  of  permanent  value.  No  name  in  our  history,  except 
Washington's,  can  be  mentioned  by  the  side  of  Lincoln's ;  he  stands  in 
many  respects  as  a  unique  product  of  our  American  soil  and  our  West- 
ern civilization.  —  Central  Christian  Advocate. 

The  value  of  this  issue,  from  a  historical  standpoint  alone,  is  very 
great,  while  the  amount  of  interesting,  instructive,  patriotic  reading 
matter  it  contains  is  truly  marvellous. —  Religious  Telescope. 

The  papers  are  valuable  contributions  to  literature  concerning  the 
great  emancipator,  throwing  new  light  on  his  character,  his  motives, 
and  his  acts.  —  Hartford  Post. 

The  press  of  the  day  contains  nothing  more  interesting  or  more  val- 
uable than  this.  —  New  York  Sun. 

It  is  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  thorough  treatments  of  the  subject 
ever  made  of  the  great  emancipator. —  New  York  Age. 

The  people  who  felt  bitterly  toward  Lincoln  previous  to  his  death 
now  speak  of  him  in  the  greatest  kindness,  and  some  of  them  look 
upon  him  as  a  mortal  who  was  inspired.  He  is  a  stalwart  figure  in  our 
history,  standing  next  to  Washington ;  and  we  rejoice  that  The  Inde- 
pendent made  a  successful  appeal  to  forty  writers  who  were  able  to 
give  personal  reminiscences  of  the  patient  man  whose  shoulders  sup- 
ported the  heaviest  burden  of  the  Civil  War.  —  Turf,  Field,  and  Farm. 

The  papers  are  valuable  contributions  to  the  literature  concerning 
the  great  emancipator,  throwing  new  light  on  his  character,  his  motives, 
and  his  acts.  —  Putnam  (Conn.)  Patriot. 

Much  of  the  matter  has  never  before  appeared  in  print,  and  is  of 
intense  and  permanent  value.  —Fremont  (O.)  Journal. 

There  may  be  places  where  the  events  of  the  life  of  our  great  mar- 
tyred President  are  more  fully  told,  but  we  have  found  no  place  where 
the  character  of  the  man  himself  has  been  more  vividly  portrayed 
than  in  these  reminiscent  sketches  by  men  who  were  associated  with 
him  in  the  crowning  period  of  his  life.  —  Hartford  Seminary  Record. 

It  is  a  remarkable  compilation.  There  is  far  more  interesting  and 
useful  reading  matter  in  the  number,  in  quantity,  than  the  majority  of 
bound  books  contain ;  and  the  number  has  still  more  valuable  matter. 

—  Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty. 

Will  serve  to  enshrine  his  memory  in  the  hearts  of  our  rising  genera- 
tion. Should  be  put  into  book  form,  and  made  a  permanent  addition 
to  Lincoln  literature.  —  Western  Christian  Advocate. 

3 


